I had purpose out there, but maybe I had purpose here, too.
“Come on,” I said and climbed out of the truck.
She followed me. We headed down a short walk and entered into the office building. It stretched upward around us, each office filled with a high-ranking military official, someone important and powerful.
I climbed the stairs, remembering the way. I assumed he was in the same office still at the very top corner of the building. Piper kept pace as we climbed and eventually made it to the sixth floor. We walked under stale fluorescent lights until we reached the last door. Maron’s secretary was just inside, and beyond her, Maron himself.
I stepped in and she looked up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Gates King,” I said. “Here to see the General.”
“Oh yes, Gates. He’s expecting you.” She smiled and nodded toward the door.
We stepped past her. I pushed the door open.
General Maron looked up, his cold, dark eyes staring at me. I felt Piper step up behind me as I paused in the doorway.
“General,” I said.
“Gates, come in and sit down. Close that door.”
I nodded. Piper went in before me and sat in a chair. I shut the door behind us.
General Maron was in his late forties with a thick head of salt-and-pepper hair and a square jaw. He was once a serious and decorated soldier, and he said he was a lot like me. He really made his name during Desert Storm as a field commander. He was involved in Iraqi Freedom and everything after that as well.
Maron was a strong man and in good shape, especially for someone his age. His gaze swept past me and locked on Piper.
“Who’s this?” he asked.
“Piper Bowers. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Piper.” Maron looked at me. “What are you doing here, Gates?”
“Came to ask for help.”
He laughed, and that made me cringe. “Ask for my help? I offered you my help and you turned me down.”
“It wasn’t the kind of help that I needed or wanted.”
“You don’t know what you need or want.”
“I want to serve my country.”
“So do it the right way.” He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “No, we’re not having this argument again.”
“Good,” I said. “I’m not interested in hearing it.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Piper is in trouble,” I said. “Well, I’m in trouble too.”
“Okay. What happened?”
I looked at her. “Go ahead, Pipes. Tell him the story.”
She bit her lip and then launched into it. She started at the beginning, with her relationship with Tony, and she ended with the two of us driving away from the city as fast as we could.
Maron listened and nodded. It was an insane story, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t believe it, but he didn’t seem to bat an eye at it. When she finished, he looked at me.
“Do you confirm all that?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “It’s all true.”
“How can you be sure?”
“They came after us.”
“I see.”
“We need your help, sir. We have nowhere else to turn.”
He leaned back in his chair, watching the two of us. I couldn’t tell what was going on behind those dark eyes, but I hoped it was good. I hoped he still had some fondness left for me, or else we were both screwed.
“What do you need from me?” he asked finally.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know what you can do.”
“You want me to talk to the mafia?”
I blinked. “Can you do that?”
“Probably,” he said. “Potentially. Maybe. I have a lot of contacts, a lot of them politicians. I may be able to find one with mob ties.”
“That’s asking a lot,” I said.
“Yes, it is.” He stared at me quietly for a second.
“It’s for her,” I said finally. “It’s not for me. I can handle myself. But Piper, she’s a normal person and these animals are after her.”
Maron finally nodded. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
“What?”
“Your whole damn life you’ve thought about nobody but yourself, Gates. I’m happy you’re finally thinking about someone else.”
“That’s not true. I serve my country.”
“You serve it because you want to.” Maron shook his head. “I don’t have time for this. I know a place the two of you can stay for the night. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“Sir,” I said, standing. “Thank you, sir.”
“I would never turn away a soldier in need.” He wrote down an address on a piece of paper and slid it to me. “Key is under the mat. Stay there and do not leave until I contact you. Understood?”