Donovan Pritchard was a member of Ash’s own Green Beret unit. They worked closely together during Ash’s last deployment to Afghanistan. They saw things together that other people couldn’t even imagine, let alone see in their nightmares. Donovan was an expert at explosives. He could work with any material, blow up anything, and predict accurately how it would fall. He could take out a dozen insurgents but avoid the civilians right next door.
Kirkland Parish was also a Green Beret. Although he was with a different unit during Ash’s days with the Army, Ash had heard stories about him. He was something of a character, outgoing and something of a lady’s man. If there was a woman within a fifty-mile radius, Kirkland could find her and get her in his bed in a matter of minutes. Charm didn’t even begin to describe Kirkland. There was just something about him that instantly set people at ease. It was a skill that often came in handy with the kind of frightened, wired clients Gray Wolf served.
Joselyn Grant Hernandez, Joss, was a tiny but fierce soldier who stood up to and conquered every obstacle thrown at her during basic training. And then she served two tours of duty, leaving the Army only because she fell in love and wanted to experience a normal life. She was on Ash’s radar when he began building his company, but she was happy living with her schoolteacher husband and being a stay-at-home mom to her six-year-old daughter. But when her husband and child were killed in a car accident, Ash and his Gray Wolf team stepped in, made sure the driver of the other car received his just punishment, and gave her a place to turn to when she was ready to get back to work. She took it and she was good at her job. The fact that she wouldn’t speak didn’t seem to bother anyone.
And then there was David.
Ash and David grew up in Austin, Texas where their father was a longtime member of the Texas legislature. They were a close-knit family, one of those that politicians often parade out in public with big smiles on their faces. The only difference was, it was true in their case. When Ash graduated college with a degree in political science and decided to join the Army, his parents couldn’t have been more thrilled. The dream was that he would one day follow in his father’s footsteps. David, too, was serving his country. After college, he joined the FBI.
And then things changed.
Their father was elected to Congress. There was a celebration that ran late into the night on Election Day. Ash couldn’t be there because he was deployed, but he managed to speak to his parents for a few minutes via satellite phone. If he had known it would be the last time…
David was driving the car. Dad was too tired, and he’d had a few too many to drink. And Mom, well, she just didn’t drive. The car hit a patch of black ice. It was Austin. In November. Not a common occurrence, but it was known to happen. The car flipped. Mom was declared dead on the scene. Dad lingered a few days, the press thick outside the hospital, waiting with baited breath. And David crushed his lower spine. Bone fragments were removed and his potential recovery was optimistic. However, they missed a few, and the inflammation caused paralysis from his upper thighs down. The doctors thought they could restore movement, maybe allow him ninety percent mobility, but he refused to undergo the procedure. He said the risk wasn’t worth it.
Ash thought it was guilt. And guilt he understood.
“Listen up!” Ash called, as he made his way through the room, a handful of file folders in his hand. “Assignments.”
Like good soldiers, his people immediately gathered around the conference table. Donovan in jeans and a t-shirt, dark circles under his eyes. Kirkland looking dapper in slacks and a silk button-down shirt. Joss stood off to one side, still in the wetsuit she wore each morning to conquer the waves on her surfboard. David was always last to join them, moving efficiently in his fiberglass wheelchair.
“Kirkland, you’ll be working with Detective Warren today, tying up loose ends on your stalker case. He’ll meet you downtown at noon.”
“Hope he plans to buy me lunch.”
There were a few titters around the table, but they disappeared when Ash looked up again.
“Joss, there’s a doctor at Cedars-Sinai who’s having some trouble with an ex-husband. I’d like you to go over there, keep an eye on her for a day or two.”
She nodded, as she stepped forward to take the file he held out to her. She stepped back again, glancing through the file as Ash continued the meeting.
“David, you should keep working on those background checks. We need those by tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” David said, snapping a weak salute that made Donovan reach over and smack his shoulder.
“And Donovan…you’re behind on your paperwork. You need to spend the day getting caught up.”
Donovan groaned. “Really, can’t David or Rose do that for me?”
“The paperwork has to be done by the operative himself. You know that.”
“What’s the matter, Donovan? Intimidated by a simple little computer?” David asked.
“Shut up,” Donovan said, feinting a punch at David, laughing when he flinched. “You may be in a wheelchair, but I’m not afraid of kicking your ass.”
“Boys,” Rose said from across the room.