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  Reclamation: Book 3 – That’s Not My Baby

  Erosa Knowles

  Copyright 2015 by Erosa Knowles

  Smashwords Edition

  ISBN: 978-1-937334-39-0

  First Edition Electronic February 2015

  Published by Sitting Bull Publications, LLC

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author‘s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Erosa Knowles.

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  RECLAMATION: That’s Not My Baby

  BY: EROSA KNOWLES

  Club Reclamation is a place where Vets from all military branches come, chill, grab a drink or meal and find like-minded folks with a story to tell, or problem to share or a soapbox to stand on. If you’ve served in the Armed Forces, chances are you’ll find a friend who gets you and what you’ve been through at Club Reclamation, where everyone gets a second chance.

  When a former team-mate’s wife is brutally attacked in her home, former SEAL Maximus Delgado is called to make good on the promise he made to watch over his deceased brother’s widow. The past converges with the present, Max and his team must unravel events to track down the threat and eliminate it before a child is lost before seeing the light of day. Even they are surprised where their journey ends.

  Real Estate owner Tamara Gibbs has decided to give Max a second chance, but refuses to rush their relationship. She insists his son needs time to get to know her, which frustrates Max. He wants them together now, regardless of interfering relatives. Together the two strengthen their commitment and build toward their future, in That’s Not My Baby.

  <<<<<>>>>

  A great big thank you to Karen, Denise, Evelyn, and Kelli for all your help in getting this story to press! I appreciate you and everyone who loves and appreciates Vets, this fictional story is for you!

  Chapter 1

  “Open this door, Adele.” Charlene pounded on the front door, prepared to knock it down if necessary. “I’m not going anywhere until you open the damn door.” Sweat poured down her back as she continued to hit the door.

  “Adele,” Charlene called again and then looked in the garage at Adele’s car. “Spoiled bitch.” Charlene hefted her bag on her shoulder, walked into the garage and touched the hood of the car. As she suspected it was warm, Adele hadn’t been home long and just didn’t open the door. If Brock hadn’t asked that she check on Adele, Charlene would turn around and go home. But family was family, and they’d all made a promise to Jose before he died to watch out for his wife. Times like these, he wished he hadn’t agreed with the others.

  “Adele?” She knocked on the garage door and then turned the handle. When it opened, she stopped and looked at the knob. Dread skittered up her spine. Adele ignored a lot of things, but with the last threat of Vincente coming after her, she took security seriously. She wouldn’t leave her door unlocked.

  Charlene pulled out her pistol and stepped inside. Inhaling, she didn’t smell anything out the ordinary and stepped forward carefully.

  “Adele?” Charlene looked through the kitchen, ignoring the shiny stainless appliances and headed toward the fancy dining room that looked as though it had never been used. Where was she?

  A sound caught her attention. Pistol raised she walked toward the sound. Looking ahead she didn’t see the person who ran into her from the side knocking her to the floor before running out the same door she had entered. It took a moment to realize what happened and then she jumped up.

  “Adele,” she yelled running toward the back throwing open doors. Fear choked her. “Adele,” she called again.

  “Help.” The pitiful sound, just above a whisper, stopped Charlene in her tracks. Spinning she ran to the room she’d left and searched again.

  “Adele, where are you?”

  “Here.”

  With long strides, Charlene reached the closet door and gasped. Bleeding on the floor of the walk in closet lay Adele. Charlene pulled out her phone and called the police. Next she called Mark, her lover, so that he could contact Chief.

  She sat on the floor and took Adele’s cold hand. “Help’s on the way,” she whispered wishing she could do more. Was she losing the baby? Who attacked her and why? A basket full of questions and no answers.

  “Hurts,” Adele murmured.

  Charlene’s eyes filled with tears and spilled down her cheek. “I’m so sorry… so sorry this happened.” The sound of sirens came closer. She stood to open the door so they didn’t break it down. “I’ll be right back, Adele.”

  On the way out she stuffed her pistol in her bag, grabbed her wig from the floor where it’d fallen and placed it on her head. A small flag pin on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up and threw it in her bag. Just before she opened the door, she wiped the tears from her face.

  “Back here,” she said waving them inside.

  The paramedics rushed to the back and attended to Adele while the police asked her questions. The entire time she answered questions she wondered what was a veteran’s eagle pin doing in Adele’s house.

  Chapter 2.

  “Great seeing you again, Delgado.” Captain Charles Wilson slapped Max on the shoulder and stood next to Brock. “You too, Sterling. Have you been keeping this one out of trouble?” He pointed at Max. The three of them were similar in height, although Charles was a few inches shorter than Max’s six feet three.

  Brock, stockier than the other two, grinned slightly. “I do what I can, but you know the Chief, he’ll do it his way,” he said crossing his arms and watching the interaction.

  Genuinely happy to see his friend, Max pointed to a chair at a table in the middle of his club Reclamation. “Have a seat. It’s early, quiet, we can catch up here, or do we need to go upstairs to my office?” He watched his buddy sit across from him and wondered at the purpose of the visit. Charles, better known as Chip to his friends, was active in the Army, not a vet. When active duty contacted him, they needed something or someone. Chip’s reputation as a top level investigator made his appearance more interesting. Max hadn’t been involved in any paramilitary activities for almost a year, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of hot spots of activity around the globe and Chip’s name had been whispered in many of those.

  “Thanks.” Chip sat, removed his sunglasses, revealing light blue eyes. He inhaled and looked around the club. No one spoke. “Looks good in here,” Chip said nodding while l
ooking at the bar, the main floor filled with small tables and chairs and a sign pointing toward the restaurant. “My wife and I ate here last week, good food. Charlie came out, spoke.” He chuckled.

  “Charlie crossed all the way over I see. Claims she runs the place for you.”

  Max smiled. “Yeah, he does.” He hoped Chip spoke his mind soon; he planned to have lunch with Kevin, his five year old son and Tamara, his lady. He glanced at Brock, who sat next to him.

  “Good, seems to be doing well, place was packed.”

  “It’s been good to us. The area needed a place for vets to chill and unwind with no government interference. Timing was good, wars were ending…” Max shrugged as if building the club had been easy. Brock’s raised brow stated clearly it had been anything but trouble-free. With the death of Jose, their partner, and his son Kevin’s kidnapping, Max walked away from the business many times. The club had been the least of his concerns. Charlie, his cook and Crystal, his assistant manager pulled him aside to explain how important Reclamation had become to their regulars. Each of them took on extra responsibilities to keep the place open. Now that Kevin was home, Max spent more time focusing on the club.

  “You always were a lucky, bastard. But this… what you’re doing for vets, this is good.” Chip leaned forward with his arms on the table. “Let me get to it. I’m coming to Bragg as a liaison with Veteran Affairs. There’ve been some problems with our guys getting the proper services they need. This isn’t new but it’s reached critical status.”

  “That’s good news. Where are you starting?” He wondered which problem accosting vets would be looked at first.

  “My assignment will deal primarily with the homeless situation. As you know there is a mandate to bring the numbers down and we’re not close. Word came down that we’re going to do a better job preparing our soldiers to re-enter civilian life.”

  “Considering every soldier goes through basic to prep them for military life, it makes sense to help at the end, especially those who’been in over ten years,” Brock said.

  Max nodded. “It’s always been a problem, but it’s more than that. They need better mental and medical care along with places they can afford to stay.”

  Chip nodded. “There’s some of that in place already, but we need to get information to them about services, free services that are available.”

  “True.” Max refused to offer his club as a clearinghouse for veteran affairs. They could do their own events and marketing.

  Chip waited and then smiled. “It’s an uphill battle but we owe it to our guys to make sure they get what was promised. I’ll also be assisting with legal affairs to round up vets who vanished from our radar.”

  Max’s brow rose.

  “You said your next assignment was at Bragg, when do you start? Next week?” Max asked. If identifying people was all Chip needed he could have done that without this face to face.

  “No, I start in six weeks but will be back next week.” He paused. “I’m here to testify on behalf of the General in the sexual misconduct case.” He watched Max while delivering the news.

  Max leaned back in his chair. General Lawrence’s mistress of three years, a Captain, accused him of threats and sexual assault. The General pleaded guilty to adultery, conduct unbecoming of an officer and a few lesser charges, but the sexual assault charge could send him to prison for over three decades.

  “What can you say? The man admitted to having sex with this woman, anything you do will make it harder for her—”

  “Or any military female,” Brock said.

  Max nodded. “That’s right, telling everyone he’s a great guy will make it harder for women in the military to get justice. Everyone knows she won’t win, so why make life harder for the Captain? Chances are she’ll retire and our side loses another good soldier because of bullshit.”

  Chip raised his hand. “Just because I don’t agree with what he did doesn’t mean I can’t support him as a fellow officer. Half the top brass cheat on their taxes and wives, they won’t convict him for getting caught. Besides, I’m following orders.” He paused and then released a long sigh. “To be honest, I served beneath him in Germany, he was good. Well, sane and made the safety of the men a priority. That says a lot.”

  “Tell that to his wife and small kids, bet they don’t feel like his priorities. This case has been dragging on for over a year. I’m tired of hearing about it on the news,” Max said and waved his hand to Crystal, ordering a round of beers.

  Chip tapped the table and met his gaze. “Sounds like this is personal, have you met the General?” Chip asked leaning back as Crystal placed a beer in front of them.

  “Not personally. So it’s not personal but a lot of the vets who come here have mixed opinions. Most agree the person who’s getting screwed is the mistress, the Captain. They were together for three years, definitely not a one night stand. Everybody knew about it, even did a skit. Some guy wore a brown wig, pretending to be the Captain on her knees a while back.”

  “I heard about that,” Brock said. “Wonder if they got in trouble for that?”

  Max shook his head. Even though the Captain should have known better than to mess with the man, it wasn’t always easy for junior officers. He’d seen the abuse of power first hand. A few vets shared personal experiences of sexual misconduct with him, but never filed claims because of bullshit like this. Max had no stomach for the hypocrisy.

  Chip nodded. “Can’t change the system, not me anyway. My wife doesn’t want to live on post. When I leave tomorrow, she’ll stay behind to find a house.”

  Max remembered Chip’s wife, Viola. Medium height, short black hair with a curvy figure, dark green eyes and heart shaped face, she’d been in demand during a few officers’ balls he attended early in his career. Her father and two brothers were military officers and knew everyone of influence in military circles. The woman’s sterling reputation as a great hostess preceded her. Rumor had it her family had big plans for Chip. Max wondered who ordered the man to testify on the General’s behalf. His father-in-law the Admiral?

  “My lady sells real estate. The two of them should meet; Tamara can help her find something.”

  Chip smiled. “Good, appreciate it. I’ll pass along her card.”

  Max pulled out his business card and wrote her information on the back of it. “I gave out the ones I had, but here, take this.” He slid the card across the table. “Have Vi call during business hours and make an appointment.”

  Chip took the card, looked at it and then slid it in his pocket. “Tamara Gibbs, owner, is it serious?”

  Max took a long pull of his beer while thinking of a proper response. He and Chip were in different branches of the service and met during an officer training class a while back. They’d been on the same teams at that time and got along well. It’d be good to have him around again.

  “Yes, I’m serious about her.” Max placed the glass on the table and looked at Chip. “Where are you stationed now?” he asked changing the conversation while his thoughts traveled to Tamara. They’d had a few rough patches after she gave him a second chance. Kevin hadn’t been willing to share his time and Tamara refused to push the issue no matter what Max said. She believed Kevin had been scarred by Helen, his former babysitter. Max agreed to a point which was the problem, deciding how fast to move. Within five years Max lost his younger brother, his mom, and José. For peace of mind, he needed to keep those he loved close, real close.

  The past month he’d been on a crusade to have his son and woman under one roof, today they planned to have lunch. He glanced at his watch. To be on time, he needed to get moving. Max glanced at Brock.

  “I’ve got to get a few things done in my office,” Brock said standing and offering a hand to Chip who also stood.

  “I’m having lunch with my son, so I need to get moving.” Max stood. Chip’s smile faltered for a quick second and then returned.

  “Congratulations on finding your boy. How old is he?” Chip said w
alking alongside them toward the exit.

  Max signaled Crystal that they were leaving. “Just turned five.”

  “Glad that worked out.” He offered Max his hand. “Good to see you again. We’ll talk more when I get back.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Max shook it and watched as Chip turned and headed in the opposite direction.

  “Chief?” Crystal called, stopping him.

  “Yes?”

  “The new system you had installed, it’s done. Wanna check it out right quick?” Her brown eyes sparkled and she tossed the bar rag from one hand to the other while watching him.

  Max pulled out his phone. “Let’s do this.”

  She turned and rushed back to the bar. Brock chuckled but remained standing next to him.

  “Hello?” Laughing, Crystal turned and met his gaze.

  “Put me on speaker,” Max said.

  She waved.

  “This place is a mess, stop goofing off and clean up,” he said while listening to his voice through the speakers placed around the room.

  “That is awesome, Chief,” Crystal said disconnecting the call. “It sounds like you’re right here.”

  His brow rose. She waved her hand. “You know what I mean, if you weren’t here, it’d sound like you were.”

  Max nodded. “I’m out, be back later.” He turned and headed toward the exit.

  “Something’s going on,” Brock said as they strode toward their vehicles. “Chip didn’t tell you anything.”

  “I know. Last I heard his operation in Afghanistan ran into a few problems. Hope it doesn’t mess up his career, not that his father-in-law would allow anything to stop him. Chip’s one of the few Army dogs I can stand.”

  Brock chuckled. “Me too.”

  Chapter 3.

  Tamara closed the front door of Max’s home behind Terri, Kevin’s aunt, who had been thirty minutes late dropping the boy at home. Max would be there in about ten minutes, leaving her little time alone with Kevin which had been Max’s intention all along.