Whatever It Takes (Code of Honor #5) - Reese Knightley Page 0,2

have an assignment closer to home,” the colonel ordered.

“Roger that, sir.”

Closer to home? They’d only ever done that a few times in the years since he’d joined the unit.

Once had been just a few months earlier when he and a few of Infinity had been tasked with keeping retired General Luke Rhine safe at his expensive Southern California estate.

The man got into more trouble than any person he knew, and he’d bet money that this “closer to home” order had something to do with the general.

Dillon clenched his teeth; he hated babysitting.

Top secret meeting—undisclosed location

Luke

“Who do you think it is?” Colonel Liam Cobalt snapped at him.

“I don’t know,” Luke responded calmly.

“What about Monterey?” Dave asked.

“Monterey is behind bars.” Luke shook his head.

“And you put him there.” Dave squinted at him.

It was true, he’d set up a sting that had ultimately resulted in the arrest of nightclub owner Kevin Monterey. The man was now up on charges of sex trafficking and drug running.

“Monterey has enough resources and money to instigate an attack of this size,” Liam responded.

“What’s the sense in that?” Luke rubbed the stubble at his jaw.

“Maybe he wants revenge? Who the hell knows?” Liam looked just as frustrated as Dave.

“What do you think?” Luke turned back to Dave.

Dave, who’d been the Secretary of Defense for the past six years, was his best friend. The man had flown in secretly to attend this meeting.

“I don’t like it,” Dave admitted, his face carved in granite.

“Where were you headed?” Liam asked him.

“Dave’s place, for golf. Nobody was supposed to know.” He held Liam’s gaze.

“Fuck,” Dave grimaced.

“You think they went after Luke to get at you?” Liam turned on Dave.

“I don’t know what to think!” Dave snapped.

“Don’t strain your brain,” Luke smirked.

Dave squinted at him, but the side of the man’s mouth quirked. “Smart ass.”

He huffed and took a sip of his drink.

“Some things never change,” Liam added.

“You’d both fall over from shock if I ever changed,” he offered.

It was his easygoing nature combined with his ability to get shit done that got them out of most of the trouble they’d gotten into in the military. They were brothers-in-arms, his best friends.

Liam and Dave were the only two people on earth who treated him normally instead of like a general.

A cough near the door drew Luke’s gaze, and he ran his eyes over the five fully-geared Infinity Special Forces soldiers with semi-automatic rifles in their grasps. Beyond the soldiers stood the Secretary of Defense’s secret service and protection detail. All of them stood alert, barely moving, quiet, except for the one who’d coughed.

His eyes lingered on one of the soldiers. The badass one he’d met at a retirement party a few months earlier, Dillon Thorne. The soldier, along with Oliver and Blade, had assisted him with a behind the scene sting operation that helped arrest a crooked councilman. The councilman had led them on a merry chase to a dirty state senator. Senator Van Vorst had shot and killed the councilman, a fucking mess all the way around.

The three Infinity soldiers had also assisted with apprehending Kevin Monterey. Thank god that sting and arrest had gone off without a hitch. Monterey now sat behind bars awaiting trial without bail. So, that meant it probably wasn’t Monterey that had made the attempt on his life.

“What about Senator Van Vorst?” Liam frowned.

“He never knew any of us were involved in his arrest.” He’d made sure of it.

“That you know of,” Liam responded.

He doubted that Van Vorst had figured out he worked behind the scene of a sting carried out by the local authorities.

“Check him out then,” he told Liam and then squinted at Dave.

He had been on his way to meet up with Dave.

“Is someone out to get you through me?” Luke turned on his friend.

“I don’t fucking know,” Dave groused.

The S.O.D. hadn’t made any attempt to keep his voice low. After all, the Infinity soldiers in the doorway had been hand-picked by Dave or Liam.

“Any threats lately?” Luke asked.

“No more than usual,” Dave responded.

“What do we do now?” He held first Liam’s and then Dave’s gaze.

“Protection detail,” Dave growled at him before turning to Liam.

“I’m on it,” Colonel Liam Cobalt responded, tugging out his cell phone.

“Oh, come on,” Luke cajoled.

“Don’t ‘come on’ me,” Dave warned him with a dark look. “Do you know how many bullet holes are in that chopper?”

“How many?” he asked because he really didn’t know. All he knew was that they’d been hit and the pilot had said they needed