The Enforcer Read Free Page B

you in on a trial basis, only. If you prove unstable or unbeneficial to the militia in any way, I’ll have to let you go. Am I clear about that?”
    “ Crystal, ma’am,” he replied.  
    She re-fixed her attention on the road, wondering what it was about him that made her body thrum with awareness. He had better not be more trouble than his T-shirt suggested with its provocative message, NICE BOYS DON ’T CHANGE HISTORY .

 
    Chapter Two
     
    Ten minutes outside of town, Captain Connelly swung her SUV off the country road onto a gravel driveway. It was here where she trained her militia, on what used to be a family-run apple orchard. Toby drew an appreciative breath. High-altitude photos from the ATF’s drones didn’t do the property justice. The thirty-acres of rolling fields lined with apple trees and framed by thickets of ash, sumac, birch, and sweet gum could have graced the cover of Country Living Magazine .
    Rocks pinged the underside of the Suburban as it barreled up the long driveway. Through the burnished leaves of century-old trees, sunlight glanced off a shiny metal roof of what the Taskforce had surmised was a nineteenth century farmhouse. The roof was clearly new. The paint on the home ’s exterior had been scraped right down to the original clapboard siding in anticipation of a fresh coat. Not a single weed grew around the broad front porch supported by brick pillars. Lush hedges gave way to freshly raked grass.
    A sleek cat lounged on one of the porch ’s rockers, prompting Milly to quiver on the seat next to him, but Toby’s eyes were on the humans. One man stood at the height of a ladder, his girth blocking the rungs as he made his descent. Another straightened out of a chair and folded his arms across his chest. A third man, who was missing his right arm, rounded the corner of the house from the rear. A silhouette appeared behind the screen door. How many more were there?
    Dylan braked in the yard and killed the engine. Lt. Ashby pushed out of the SUV to open her door, but Dylan beat him to it. As the three men in the yard pulled themselves into smart salutes, Toby eased out of his seat, leaving Milly in the car for the moment.
    “At ease, gentlemen.” The captain’s voice conveyed mild frustration with their formality. Their not-so-friendly gazes fastened on Toby as she turned to introduce him. “I’ve brought us a senior operations sergeant,” she announced. “Everyone, this is Tobias Burke, former Army Ranger.”
    Toby took note of the rank and title she ’d conferred on him—senior operations sergeant. Perfect.
    “ You can let Milly out,” she added, seeing the dog still in the car. “Milly is Burke’s service dog,” she added, “so don’t coddle her.”
    The black Lab leapt from the car and padded up to the strangers wagging her tail. 
    “Sergeant Burke, this is Ivan Ackerman,” Dylan said, leading Toby toward the whipcord thin, greasy-haired man sneering at him. “Ivan is our supply NCO.”
    Toby and Ivan exchanged curt nods. 
    “Next we have Sergeant Gil Morrison, former Marine Corps artillery expert. He’s our weapons NCO.”
    Morrison stepped toward Toby, and a grin split his broad face as they shook hands. “I like to blow shit up,” he divulged under his breath. 
    Okay, then .
    “ And this is Chet Lee, our communications NCO.” The man whose right hand was missing proved to be of Asian descent. He offered Toby his left hand, instead.
    “ First or second battalion?” Lee asked, pinning him with a hard look.
    “ Seventy-fifth, actually,” Toby admitted. “I drew an assignment with USASOC.”
    A grin supplanted Lee ’s glare. “Army Special Ops. Nice!”
    As they pumped hands, Toby took another look around. Is this it? Were there just three non-commissioned officers, plus the captain and her XO? he wondered.
    “ Chet’s wife cooks and cleans for us,” Dylan stated as if reading his mind. He glanced toward the screen door, and the shadow disappeared.