Hero - The Ambush: Special Forces Romance by M. S. Parker

us two whiskeys and sipped his before pulling a thin letter out of his jacket pocket. “Another one arrived this morning.”
    I didn't bother to ask if he'd involved the police. He'd made it quite clear to me that the threats Leighton was receiving were to be handled in-house, by me. I hadn't had much luck so far, but I knew it'd take more than me suggesting it before Devlin involved the police. He knew as well as I did that they'd tell Leighton and that was the last thing he wanted.
    “I'm hoping it'll be able to tell you something more about him. Something that might help us find him.”
    I opened the letter and read it, then read it again. Like the others, there wasn't much in the way of quantity, but there were details about Leighton's life that I was disturbed he had. I shook my head. “Unless there's forensics on the letter, it's the same as the others. The details he's including make me think he's ramping up to something or he's trying to provoke us into reacting.”
    “Love letter from back home?” Ian's voice came from behind us as he joined us at the bar.
    “Wouldn't you like to know,” I said as I slipped the letter into my suit pocket.
    Devlin gave Ian a smile, and then ordered another shot of whiskey for his grandson. “Here's to the man of the hour.”
    “Some party,” Ian said as he looked around. “Just you two to send me off?”
    The expression on his face told me that he knew why we were meeting here, and it wasn't because of its close proximity to the airport. None of the men in Leighton's life liked Ricky.
    “Your sister is on her way,” Devlin said, shooting me a glance. “Hotel security is waiting to walk her down.”
    I quickly changed the subject before Ian could ask why I wasn't the one waiting for her. “Thank you for inviting me.”
    “Thank me? You do realize that, without you, I never would have lived through my first tour, much less figured out how to earn a clean bill of health and be able to re-enlist,” Ian said.
    “I'll drink to that,” I said and threw back my whiskey shot.
    For the first time in weeks, a wave of vertigo hit me. The inner ear damage keeping me out of the army tipped the restaurant and the rest of the world into a spinning mess. I clenched every muscle and held on until the overwhelming feeling passed, cursing silently.
    When it cleared, I was glad to see that neither Ian nor Devlin appeared to have noticed. Instead, they were both watching a scene unfold at the front of the bar. I turned slowly and saw Leighton arguing with the maitre d' as she tried to pull a bottle from his hands. Some of the liquid spilled on her too-short dress and she began berating him loud enough for everyone to hear.
    Shit.
    I made my way toward her as quickly as I dared.
    “That tequila's more expensive than this dress and now you owe me both,” Leighton said.
    “What's the problem?” I asked.
    “She can't bring an open container into the restaurant,” the maitre d' said, his wide eyes full of apology. It was clear he was afraid to say no to such a well-paying guest, but it was against the law. His job was on the line either way. He was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.
    “I'm sure Ms. Machus understands that it's the law,” I said as I laced Leighton's arm through mine.
    She swayed and bumped against me as I led her to the bar, a scowl on her face. At least she wasn't yelling anymore. We had enough attention on us as it was.
    “You're late,” Devlin said.
    “Congratulations, Ian.” Leighton hugged her brother even as she ignored their grandfather. “My little brother off to make us proud.” She patted his head.
    “Thanks, Leighton.” Ian gave her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”
    “She's drunk,” Devlin said, clearly disgusted by her behavior.
    I kept my hand on Leighton's back as we headed to our table. Once there, she glared at me and plopped down in her seat. As the waiter came over, she immediately insisted on a bottle of wine to make up