Page 3 of Final Sins
Call me.The text said.9-1-1.
Bridger’s brow furrowed. “Officer’s son, right? The recruit who?—”
“Yep, the one and only human gravy boat,” Jason confirmed, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. The kid was so nervous his first day in Delta Force training he’d dumped his entire dinner tray, gravy included, right in Jason’s lap.
“Go on in,” he said, jerking his chin toward the house. “I need to take this. I’ll be there in a sec. Save me a piece of lasagna. Hold on. Better make that two.”
Gravy was a kind kid, but a huge bubblehead. Whatever Gravy considered an emergency would take a minute to sort out.
Bridger hesitated, his hand on the door handle. “You sure? What if it’s a case or something?”
The team might not be actively running down Seven-Five, but they were plenty busy helping regular folks with big problems.
Jason waved him off. “The kid had his struggles with drugs after he washed out of The Unit, but far as I know, he’s been on a straight path for the last couple years. He probably just wants to reminisce about the good old days when he was baptizing COs in brown sauce. I’ll fill you in later.”
Bridger raised an eyebrow but nodded, leaving Jason alone with the glowing screen. Jason braced himself for whatever drama Gravy was about to dump in his lap. With his luck, it would be less “reminiscing about the good old days” and more “help me hide a body.”
Either way, he had a sinking feeling his lasagna was going to get cold.
2
“Gravy,”Jason said, bracing himself for whatever chaos was about to unfold. “What’s up? Please tell me you haven’t doused anybody lately.”
As he listened, Jason regarded the familiar landscape. He stood in the shade of a towering pine, the majestic Sierra Nevada rising like a jagged wall in the background. Below, the small town of Lone Pine nestled in the valley, surrounded by scattered ranches. This was the place he’d called home his entire life, the place that would be his nieces and nephew’s home. His friends’ home. Maybe even a place for a family of his own someday ...
He pushed the thought aside.
Hard, sharp breaths assaulted his ears. “Major? I didn’t know who else to call. It’s my dad—he’s missing. He told me to call you. And there’s this number, and coordinates, and I’m supposed to go alone, but I’m scared, man. I’m really scared.”
The panicked voice on the other end sent Jason’s senses into high alert. Gone was the stammering, clumsy kid he remembered. This Robbie sounded like a man on the edge.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Jason interrupted, his mind racing to keep up. “Start from the beginning. Your dad’s missing?”
“M-major, man, it’s crazy. Like, two weeks ago, my dad gives me this phone, right? One of those cheapo burners you see on TV shows. And he’s all serious, which, you know, is pretty normal for the old man, but this was different.”
Jason could practically hear Robbie fidgeting on the other end of the line. “Go on, Gravy. What happened next?”
“So he says, ‘Son,’” Robbie’s voice dropped in a poor imitation of his father’s, “‘if I ever text you ‘Never bet an inside straight,’ you call the number in this phone and you do what they say. No questions asked. Your life could depend on it.’ And I’m like, whatever, Dad. I don’t even play poker!”
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. “Focus, Gravy. What happened today?”
“Right, sorry. So, um, this morning, I get that text. ‘Never bet an inside straight.’ And I’m thinking, is this some weird dad joke? I mean, my old man’s not exactly a jokey dude, but you know, people change. Anyway, then I remembered the phone. Took me forever to find it, by the way. Did you know socks can, like, eat things?”
“Gravy,” Jason said, his patience wearing thin. “The phone call. What happened when you called the number?”
“Oh! Yeah, so I called, and this voice answers. All gruff and stuff. Kind of like a machine voice. Tells me to be at these coordinates in four hours. Bring nothing. No phone, no luggage, nada. Just show up if I wanna live.” Robbie’s voice cracked. “Who even says that? Oh, and my dad also told me to contact you. Said you’d help me get to these folks or whatever. I forgot that part.”
Robbie’s father, Robert Munsinger II, was a brigadier general. Last Jason heard, he was assigned to the NationalMilitary Command Center. One-stars didn’t go missing. Especially not high-up Pentagon appointees.
And they didn’t warn their kids to expect danger … unless they were dead serious.
“So, let me get this straight,” Jason said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Your dad vanished, left instructions to call me and some cryptic number, and now you’re supposed to meet some strangers in the middle of nowhere?”
“Yup, that’s about it,” Robbie replied, his voice small. “Will you help me, Major? Please? I’ve got to be there in four hours. That’s two hours flight time from my place in Boise. You’re still a pilot and everything, right? If you flew up, we could make the deadline.”
Jason groaned, already knowing he was going to regret this. But the fear in Robbie’s voice was real. Despite the kid’s penchant for disaster, Jason couldn’t ignore a cry for help. Especially if it was backed up by a one-star’s recommendation.
And, he had to admit, he was bored out of his mind anyway.