Page 36 of Reckless

“Z, that you?”

Xavier held his breath to keep from letting out a huge sigh of disappointment. There was only one person who called him Z.

“Cotton? How are you, man? Haven’t heard from you in a while. Everything okay?”

He’d gone through basic training with Clayton Cotton, and their friendship, such as it was, had lasted for over a decade. He only heard from him every few years now, but he always tried to be available when the man called. Some people just needed an extra shoulder to lean on during tough times, and Cotton was one of those people.

The first time Xavier had seen the man, he had been lying on the ground. Blood had covered his face, and the asshole beating him hadn’t been stopping. Xavier hadn’t cared what had started the fight, but watching a kid who obviously had no fighting skills get beaten to a pulp pissed him off mightily. He’d jerked the guy off Cotton and kicked the bully’s ass. That day, he’d made a friend. Xavier had long forgotten the bully’s name, but Cotton had stayed in touch with him.

Last time he’d heard, the man was tending bar somewhere up north. He’d left the military a few years after Xavier, and though they’d never served together in the same places, they’d somehow stayed in touch.

When Cotton didn’t immediately answer, Xavier knew something was up. “What’s wrong, Cotton? You in trouble?”

“Sort of. I just…I need to tell you something.”

Xavier settled his back against Jazz’s door. Cotton didn’t have family or many friends he could go to in times of trouble. Xavier always tried to be there for him. Even though his mind was screaming at him to go out and find Jazz, he forced himself to give his friend his attention. “Okay. What is it?”

“Remember last year when Alfredo Lopez was almost killed in that restaurant blast in Puerto Rico?”

Xavier straightened his shoulders, now completely focused on Cotton’s words. “How did you know about that?”

“It was me. I set the charge.”

“What? What the hell, Cotton?”

“I’m sorry, Z. I took the job but didn’t know you’d be there…that you were working an op. When I saw you in the kitchen that day, I knew if I pulled out of the job, they’d find someone else. So I protected you. I made it a small blast. The old geezer was about a thousand years old. I figured he’d die from fright even if the explosion didn’t kill him.”

He and Jazz had been working undercover in the restaurant, keeping eyes on Lopez, a cartel leader who was there to meet someone. If the plan had been to kill Lopez, they’d always wondered why there had been only one charge.

Afterward, he and Jazz had stayed in Puerto Rico for several days, trying to get answers. Even though they’d gotten answers, who’d actually set the charge had remained a mystery.

“Why were you trying to kill a cartel leader?”

“It was my job. I’m a gun for hire.”

Xavier closed his eyes. Cotton didn’t always make good decisions. A shitty childhood had messed with him in a big way. But now he was a paid assassin?

“How…why…”

“Listen, I can’t really explain other than I kind of got lost after I left the service. Didn’t know what direction to take. I needed money, and some of the things I’m trained for… Well, there’s not much call for them in the regular world. You know?”

Yeah, he couldn’t argue with that. When you’d been trained to do certain things and you were in a normal world, things weren’t always black and white. If not for Option Zero, the same thing might’ve been his fate.

“Anyway, I needed the money, so I took the job. Guess you know it was his nephew who hired the hit.”

“Yeah.” Cartels were often good at solving their own crimes. Alfredo’s nephew had gotten tired of waiting for his uncle to die so he could take over. Thought he’d help things along. Instead, his uncle hadn’t died, and the nephew had paid for his betrayal with his life. Justice, especially in the criminal world, could be quick and brutal.

“So anyway, my reputation took a major hit when I didn’t make the kill. I decided that life wasn’t for me.”

“That’s good, Cotton. You made the right decision.”

“Yeah, I know. But the other day, I caught wind of another hit. And I… Well…”

His heart dropped. “Cotton?”

“I got a text from a friend. Said a man out of Chicago was looking for some local talent. My friend knew I stay around that area, so he went ahead and sent me the name and photo. It was a different name, but when I saw the photo, I knew I had to do something. The photo was of you, Z.”

Closing his eyes, Xavier breathed out gruffly, “You were the shooter in Seattle.”