Deceived: Tactical Enforcers Agency, #2

By Erika Reed

Mac Walker had been a soldier who'd sacrificed everything during his time in the military. And then he'd been forced to retire after a traumatic leg injury that ended his career. He and a group of good men started a bounty-hunting agency, successfully tracking down fugitives from the law who tried to avoid them at any cost. Now at forty, he was older and wiser. No matter how much he tried to move forward in life there was one thing he could never get out of his mind. After losing hope of ever finding the one woman who had ruined him for all other women he tried to get close to, Avery had re-appeared once more in his life, and this time he wasn't about to let her get away so easily. 

Avery Duncan never thought she'd see Mac again after the week they had spent together while he was on leave years ago. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't deny that what they'd shared meant more to her than she ever imagined. Before, she'd had her reasons for running away in the middle of the night. In the moments they'd shared, she wasn't completely honest with him and it was time she came clean, especially about her son, Mason. Mac was the one man she had always regretted walking away from, but would he still want her even after she told him the secrets of her past?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erika Reed
• Release date: May 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386991274

Book preview

DECEIVED

Tactical Enforcers Agency

by Erika Reed

DECEIVED

Copyright © April 2018 by Erika Reed

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.

Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

DECEIVED

Mac Walker was a soldier who sacrificed his life for his country while serving in the military. And then with the slip of just one mistake, he was forced to retire after enduring a traumatic leg injury, ending his career. He and a group of good men started the bounty-hunting agency that enjoyed tracking down fugitives who tried to avoid them at any cost. Now at forty, he was older and wiser, he tried to keep himself busy with everything that he’d lost in his past, but he could never get her out of his mind. In giving up hope of ever finding her again, Avery had re-appeared once more in his life, and this time he wasn’t about to let her get away so easily. 

Avery Duncan never thought she’d see Mac after the week they had spent together while he was on leave years ago. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t deny what they shared meant more to her than she ever imagined. She had her reasons for running away in the middle of the night. In the moments they shared together, she wasn’t completely honest with him and it was time she came clean to him, especially about her son, Mason. Mac was the one man she had always regretted walking away from, but would he still want her even after she told him the secrets she had to keep from him to protect her from exposing her past?

DECEIVED

Tactical Enforcers Agency

by Erika Reed

Ten years previous

Mac was getting tired of his forearms sticking to the wood of the bar top. The bartender who had been serving him all night looked worse than he did. The more he watched, the more obvious it became to Mac the old guy had been throwing a few back between customers as his actions were clumsier than when Mac had first shown up. No matter to Mac, as long as the drinks kept coming.  

The group that Mac had first shown up with had begun to fade in numbers. It wasn’t the nicest of establishments, but as long as the bar had ice cold beer and good-looking broads to ogle, they were there. As Mac sat at the sticky bar, he toyed with the label on his beer bottle. He had grown bored of looking at the same faces since he walked in a few hours ago. There were a few females that piqued his interest, but his buddies had already swooped in and claimed them before he had the chance to get his sorry ass off the barstool. Now he sat alone catching a whiff of stale beer and greasy burgers that went by him every so often.

They had been given some time to blow off steam and they all planned to make the best of it. Most of the guys in his platoon was going to visit their families, where Mac and a few of the other ones chose to hit the first bar they found and have a little fun with a willing woman and drink the night away.

After serving two consecutive terms in the marines, he had seen his share of blood, sweat and tears on the front line. His body had been through enough to know that he was ready to try his hand at another line of work. Since he had no desire to join the real world like most of the guys he’d hung out with in high school, he liked being a soldier and kept enlisting each time his term was up. Mac couldn’t see himself working a nine-to-five job like most men did after high school. He’d known a long time ago that he wanted to serve his country and enlist. He considered himself to be a red-blooded American who prided himself on protecting his country.

Bored with his surroundings, he finished the last of his warm beer and paid his tab. As he got off the stool, making his way to hit the head one last time, he caught sight of a beautiful woman sitting in the back corner of the bar all by herself. She must have snuck in when he wasn’t paying attention, because he would have noticed that strawberry blond goddess from a mile away. She wasn’t looking his way, so he slowed his pace, taking in her glowing beauty. The woman was nursing a tall fruity-looking drink by herself. There wasn’t another drink on the table in front of her so he guessed she was there alone. He quickly used the bathroom and straightened himself up before he decided to go out and make pleasantries with her. He had to meet her. There was something magnetic about her that drew him. He felt the need to get a closer look at her before he walked out the door and regretted it for the rest of his life.

She didn’t see him in front of her table until he announced himself.

Hi!

Her eyes traveled up his torso until she made eye contact with him. She was even more beautiful up close. He felt a slight pang inside his chest as his heart began to beat faster. No woman had ever had the kind of effect on him that she did.

Hello.

I was wondering if I could join you for a drink or if you’re waiting for someone? He felt his hands get clammy and a bead of sweat begin to form along his hairline. He had never felt this nervous approaching a female before and he wasn’t sure why she made him question his confidence in himself.

For a minute there, he couldn’t tell if she’d heard his question over the loud music that was playing in the bar, but then she nodded at the seat across from her. He noticed she had a big bag that sat beside her; she pulled it closer to her side as he made himself comfortable.

My name is Mac. He reached out to shake her hand.

Avery. Her small hand felt so tiny and soft inside his rough one. She was very quiet, and kept looking around while taking long sips of her drink. It was almost as if she was nervous about something and she needed the drink to help calm her nerves.

Do you come here often? He laughed when she hid a smile behind her hand. Cheesy come-on line, huh?

Classic.

I’ve never been here before, so I guess I was just curious if you’re a regular here.

She shook her head. I just got here myself. I came for a little R&R. I just arrived in town today. What about you, Mac? Are you here on vacation?

The cute waitress that had been serving him all night stopped by to ask them if they needed another drink. Another beer and daiquiri for you, ma’am? They both nodded.

Now that he had a reason to stick around, all desire to head out of the dingy bar vanished from his mind. He would have happily sat all night and talked to Avery. Up close, she was even more beautiful. Even though it was kind of dark in the corner of the bar, he could still see that she had pretty green eyes that sparkled when she smiled at him.

He normally didn’t tell people what he did for a living, especially females he planned to take to bed. The women he usually slept with only wanted one thing from Mac, and that was fine by him. He liked to keep things casual, a no-strings-attached kind of guy. Once they found out what he did for a living they usually had a hundred questions for him, and more often than not he would tell them he was a trainer. But something about Avery made him want to tell her all his deepest and darkest secrets.

I am actually on leave from the marines. Our platoon has the week off so some of us thought we’d come here after checking into the motel around the corner and have a few drinks.

A marine. She tilted her head, nodding. Wow, I’ve never met an actual marine before. She reached out to shake his hand. Thank you for serving our country. Do you have family you plan to visit while you’re on leave?

Mac had two younger sisters that were both married and had kids of their own. It had been a while since he had seen any of them, especially since he’d enlisted. Since his parents were no longer living, his sisters and their families were all that he had now.

Nah, they don’t live around here. And they are all busy with their families. I try and see them twice a year if my schedule permits me, but most of the time we talked on the phone when we could.

The waitress dropped off their drinks as they continued to get to know each other.

I bet they miss seeing you and worry an awful lot when you’re out there fighting for our country. I couldn’t imagine worrying each day whether or not you were still alive or not. I couldn’t handle being a military family member or even a wife to one, praying each and every day that you come home safe.

It was a concern that