Blood Lines Read Free Page A

Charlotte.”
    â€œSure.” Shel grabbed his gym bag. “You got a change of clothes?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œYou coming?”
    â€œPlanned on it. I don’t know that you’re safe out there alone.”
    Shel gave Remy another crooked-toothed grin and slid his mirrored sunglasses into place. “Grab a shower and change while I go get my truck. If you’re not out front in ten minutes, you’ll have to catch up.”
    Remy cursed at him but started working on the combination to his locker.
    Shel stepped out of the room. He was aware that most of the men were staring at him. He didn’t like the attention, but he blew it off and concentrated on the job in front of him. Being in motion helped soothe him.
    This was what he needed.

    >> Gymnasium Parking Area
    >> Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
    >> 1326 Hours
    Shel sat behind the steering wheel of his black Jeep Rubicon and ignored the fact that two MP Hummers now occupied the parking area in front of the gym. He knew they were there because of what had happened earlier.
    Violence was part of every soldier’s world. If it wasn’t present out on the battlefield or in whatever country he was policing, then it lurked in the camps, posts, and bases where those warriors gathered. Violence was a necessary product of the trade they practiced, and it didn’t always stay under control.
    Max sat patient and quiet in the backseat. The dog had learned to adjust to Shel’s dark moods when they stole up on him.
    After checking his watch, Shel popped the glove compartment open and took out a dog treat. He called the dog’s name, then flipped the treat over his shoulder. Max caught it easily and devoured it with a couple of noisy chomps.
    â€œYou’re not the most polite company I could have,” Shel told the dog’s reflection in the rearview mirror.
    Max barked at him.
    â€œWhen we get back from this, if there’s time, I’ll take you down to the beach,” Shel promised.
    Max barked again.
    One of the first things Shel had learned after being paired with a K-9 unit was how smart the dogs were. He knew that Max didn’t understand his words, but he also knew the dog understood his intent. There were more good things in store for him than just the dog treat.
    Lynyrd Skynyrd played on the stereo. Shel could listen to—and appreciate—a lot of different music, but it was Southern rock that took him back to his roots outside Fort Davis, Texas.
    His daddy hadn’t cared for the rock and roll too much, but Shel knew Tyrel McHenry was acquainted with it. The Rolling Stones and the Beatles had been big during the Vietnam War when Tyrel had served.
    But back home, Tyrel only listened to country and western music. Hank Williams Sr., Bob Wills, and a handful of others made up the core of his musical library. He had cut off anything new about the time Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn were singing together. But he had made allowances for George Strait and Randy Travis.
    His daddy, Shel reflected, was some piece of work. He was a hard man to understand and a harder man to get to know. But he’d been fair when Shel and his brother were growing up.
    Just never warm. Especially not after Shel and Don’s mama had died. That was how Tyrel had always referred to her. “The boys’ mama.” Never his wife.
    And just like that, Shel was thinking about his daddy and his daddy’s ways all over again.

    >> 1328 Hours
    Remy jogged to a fire-engine red Camaro Z-28 that he had restored and continually worked on. He opened the trunk and dropped his gym bag inside, then hauled out the duffel containing his gear. All of the team carried spare weapons and tactical armor everywhere they went. It was the nature of the job.
    Shel pulled up behind Remy and waited as the other man threw his duffel in the back. Remy kept out a 9 mm Beretta M9 pistol in a paddle holster. He wore a loose basketball jersey outside of his