Gavin's Song: A Last Rider's Trilogy (Road to Salvation Book 1) Read online

  Gavin’s Song

  Road to Salvation: A Last Rider's Trilogy #1

  Jamie Begley

  Young Ink Press Publication

  YoungInkPress.com

  Copyright © 2019 by Jamie Begley

  Edited by C&D Editing & Hot Tree Editing

  Cover Art by Cover Couture

  Photo (c) Wander Photography

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Connect with Jamie,

  facebook.com/AuthorJamieBegley

  JamieBegley.net

  For Kristen

  Contents

  Warning

  Have you ever wondered what happens to two souls destined for each other before they even meet?

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  6. 8 years later

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Acknowledgments

  Reading Order

  Warning

  This book contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing, including graphic depictions of rape and sexual assault, and is intended for adults only.

  Reader discretion is advised.

  Reading this book… will be like entering the dark web.

  ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  Have you ever wondered what happens to two souls destined for each other before they even meet?

  Well, this is it…

  Prologue

  Gavin jogged along the sandy stretch of beach, enjoying the cool breeze coming in from the ocean.

  “Have you decided who to ask to the bonfire tonight?”

  At his best friend’s question, Gavin didn’t misstep as he continued to jog. “Not yet. Any ideas?”

  “A few, but none that you would want to ask.”

  Gavin laughed at Tony’s sarcasm, not taking it seriously. The two of them being attracted to different types of girls worked to both their advantages. Tony liked slim and easy, while Gavin was attracted to girls of various sizes and who challenged him. He was equally attracted to girls who put out as much as any red-blooded sixteen-year-old boy, yet he found himself enjoying the more experienced girls who were smart enough to avoid every Tom, Dick, and Tony.

  “I was thinking of asking Lacey.”

  Gavin stopped jogging when Tony started laughing.

  His friend turned around when he saw Gavin wasn’t next to him. “What?” he yelled out, walking back to him.

  “What makes you think Lacey won’t go out with me?”

  “Other than, she’s out of your league.” Snorting out a puff of air, Tony started laughing again. “She’s been going out with Devan since freshman year, and she makes fun of you riding Loker’s old bike to school.”

  “It’s a classic.”

  “It’s shit.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “You’d be better off getting a part-time job to buy a car. There’s a reason girls like a guy with a car. It’s called a back seat.”

  “Who needs a back seat?” Gavin waved his hand at the miles of beach ahead of them. “I have a blanket in my saddlebag.”

  “Dude, chicks hate fucking on the beach all the time. Once or twice is fun, but that fucking sand is a pain in the ass. It gets everywhere.”

  Gavin shrugged, unconcerned. “They get tired of it, then we can go to my house. Ton is cool with me having sleepovers.”

  “Most girls don’t want to make out with a parent in the house.”

  “I haven’t had a problem with it. Most of them like him. They think my dad’s cool.”

  Tony’s shoulders slumped. “He is. My parents are lame as hell. My dad would have a heart attack if I tried to sneak a girl into my room, and you don’t even need to sneak them inside. Ton lets you do anything you want.”

  “Yeah right. I wish. Ton can be a hard-ass when it comes to schoolwork, drinking, and being out after curfew. He’d just rather me be home at night than out on my bike.”

  “I’d rather put up with that shit than having to fit in my back seat every time I want to get laid.”

  Gavin grinned, turning on his heels to start jogging again; Tony caught up alongside him.

  Hell, he knew he had it made. He had dreaded Ton retiring from the military, used to it being just him and Loker since he was twelve years old. Their mother had woken up one day and decided out of the blue that she was done waiting for Ton to retire and having the responsibility of two sons. To give her credit, she waited until Loker was seventeen and about to graduate before leaving. Ton had almost resigned his commission before Loker told him that he would take care of Gavin until his dad finished his tour. Three years later, Ton returned home and Loker had left the next day to fulfill his own dreams of being in the Navy.

  The last year had been hard adjusting to Ton back full-time instead of being in the background as he had been most of his life. To complicate the transition, he missed Loker. His older brother had been more of a father to him than Ton. They had been close before his mother left and had grown closer after being left on their own.

  When he was younger, he had hero-worshiped Loker. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. All his friends were jealous Loker was his brother. Girls were fascinated with him, and even the teachers admired Loker and automatically liked Gavin just for being related to him. Loker had the cool friends and didn’t take shit from anyone. The bullies and thugs learned to give Loker a wide berth. He had earned a reputation in school and throughout town that if push came to shove, he wouldn’t run from a fight.

  His brother was only five years older than him, but always had the maturity of someone older. While it benefited Gavin that Loker had accepted responsibility for him until Ton retired, it had its disadvantages. In some ways he was a harder taskmaster than his father. Loker had been overprotective to a fault sometimes. The two months before he left had been spent with the two of them butting heads. Even now when he called, Loker gave him hell if Ton told him that Gavin broke one of his rules. Gavin just wanted them to go back to being brothers like they had been before his mother left and to leave the parenting to Ton—now that he was home.

&nb
sp; Turning his head to the side, he realized Tony had fallen behind him, standing with his hands on his thighs and gasping for air.

  Sprinting back, he lay a hand on his back, concerned his friend had overexerted himself. “You okay? You need your inhaler?”

  “No, just give me a sec.”

  “Take a load off. I need a break, as well.” Gavin dropped to a sand dune, resting his arms on his knees.

  “Fuck you. I don’t need you babying me.”

  “Waa … waa … Then quit sounding like one,” Gavin mocked. “Rest. When you’re ready, we’ll walk back. I need to get a shower and call Lacey to see what time she wants me to pick her up.” He boasted, confident that she would say yes.

  He was relieved when Tony sank down onto the sand and leaned back on his elbows.

  “I have to hear that—”

  Gavin also leaned back on his elbows to stare up at the sky, letting the last rays of the sun hit his face. He saw a small plane flying past.

  “It’s kind of low, isn’t it?” he asked absently, interrupting what Tony was saying.

  “Yeah. Maybe they’re looking at houses on the beach?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s heading the wrong way.”

  Gavin stood, watching the plane continue its flight over the ocean until it was out of sight. Brushing off the strange feeling seeing the plane gave him, he turned and gave Tony a hand. “You rea—”

  Gavin nearly stumbled as Tony started to rise when the sudden feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed him. Disoriented, it was Tony who kept them from crashing back down to the sand.

  “Dude, you trying to kiss me?”

  Gavin had to shake his head as goose bumps traveled up his arms and the hair on the back of his neck rose up, as if sensing danger was about to strike. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he righted himself.

  Turning to stare back at the waves rolling toward the beach, he took a step forward, narrowing his eyes on the water, trying to understand why he wanted to run into the water and start swimming.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re freaking me the fuck out!”

  “I don’t know ….” Gavin ran a hand through his hair, feeling as freaked out as Tony by his own behavior. He had never experienced anything like it before and couldn’t explain it to his friend.

  “You must have stood too fast.”

  Gavin nodded, not taking his eyes off the water. “I guess you’re right.”

  “You ready? I need to find a date, unlike you I can’t pull one out of a magic hat.” Tony started walking back the way they had come. “You coming?”

  Gavin had to force himself to move. “I’m coming.”

  When they were back alongside each other, Tony gave him a crooked grin. “You know I was just joking about the kiss part, right?”

  Gavin grinned back. “Don’t worry; you’re not my type.”

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “Dude, you smell. You need a shower.”

  Sidestepping the elbow that his friend tried to bash into his ribs, Gavin gave one last look at the ocean before taking off after his friend—instead of running into the water like he wanted to. Tony would think he’d lost his mind, and Gavin would agree with him. How in the world could he explain the feeling that had every nerve ending in his body on fire? If he told Tony the truth, he would really freak out. Hell, he wanted to and it was happening to him. His brother would laugh his ass off if he told him. He could practically hear the pretend conversation in his head.

  “So, why in the fuck did Tony have to fish you out of the water?”

  “I was chasing goose bumps.”

  The team of men walked silently through the jungle, their determined expressions indicating the deadly seriousness of their mission. Lives were at stake, the fact two of those lives were children kept the men from engaging in their typical back and forth banter.

  Raising a commanding hand when they reached the spot he previously scouted, the thick foliage and huge palm trees providing cover from prying eyes or satellites, the team readied themselves. Then two moved forward, inflating the two RHIB boats that had been airdropped a week before.

  The boats had been configured to his specifications, including dive doors so if any of his intel was wrong and they were spotted, no one from the isolated beach would be able to see what was going on in the boat.

  However, he wasn’t worried about being seen; the intel wasn’t wrong. He had taken care of it himself, just as he had handpicked the men.

  His nine-member team was the best of the best from each branch of military, specially trained to perform rescues on land and water. He had commanded each of the members before and had chosen those who not only had the capabilities he needed to make the mission a success, but ones who had never screwed up, either personally or on assignment. They would give their own lives before accepting failure.

  He hadn’t wanted to involve too many team members in the rescue, but he decided on having enough fail-safes in place that any miscalculation wouldn’t end with a loss of life.

  As the boats inflated, the men changed into their scuba gear, geared up, and double-checked their equipment. Then he and three of his men climbed into one of the boats and five went into the other to wait for his signal.

  Glancing down at his watch, he saw it was almost time. Adrenaline was coursing through his bloodstream as he raised the high-powered scope, watching for the plane that should be within sight any minute.

  Spotting it, he climbed into the four-man, black, powered boat that would blend into the sea swells, making them invisible to the naked eye. Raising his hand, he waited for the signal he was looking for, and when the wing of the plane dipped, then righted itself then dipped again, he dropped his hand and immediately lowered his body down to the belly of the boat as it took off.

  As the plane dove toward the ocean, all he could do was wait for the final act of his meticulous plan to play out. Every part of this mission rested on his shoulders. Not only had he chosen the men in the boats, he’d picked the pilot because of his expertise in flying high-risk missions.

  He wasn’t as good a pilot as Bull, but he was damn close. Bull could set a chopper or an airplane down on a dime, and he needed that expertise for the mission’s success.

  This was his last mission, and he had no intention of ending his command on a failure. He had spent years kissing higher-ups’ asses to get the promotion he was about to step into. He earned it by sacrificing the woman he loved and the life they could have had together. He hadn’t been willing to leave his career, which was the only thing that meant more to him than her. As much as he wanted to, the time for making a different choice had come and gone; it was too late for regrets.

  Turning his head, he maneuvered himself to the dive door. He would be the first one in the water. The man he picked as his replacement would be readying to do the same thing from the other boat. Like him, failure wasn’t in his vocabulary.

  Body taut, he watched as the plane took a nosedive toward the ocean. As it did, his own stake in the success of the mission had him wanting to get in the water too soon, like a competitive swimmer too impatient to wait for the signal to go off. However, a false start could not only cost the lives of the girls they were rescuing but also the future he worked so hard to achieve.

  It didn’t dent his conscious one bit that he was cold-bloodedly going to use the mission he commanded to further his own agenda. He wouldn’t be the first government official who sacrificed his morals to attain his level of power, and he wouldn’t be the last. The meticulous preparation the military drilled into him assured the success of the calculated operation he’d devised for the mission. The only thing standing in his way was the survival of the three-year-old little girl on the plane, who had the potential to ignite a powder keg between nations from her knowledge. Not only did she unwittingly hold their fate in her hands, she held his. His enemies would laugh their heads off that Major Timothy Cooper, who had destroyed more than one military career with a sin
gle word, now had his own career hanging in the balance.

  As soon as the nose of the plane was within kissing distance of the ocean, he would be in the water. Fear that the plane could come crashing down on him was nothing compared to the horror his life would become if his private life was exposed. Unlike the man who would be expertly swimming by his side, who still believed in the job he would be taking over, but who didn’t know it had been carefully maneuvered into a shadowy plan without his knowledge.

  The sound of the plane coming closer had the muscles in his thigh bunching, preparing to push himself through the open door. For the first time, he feared he wouldn’t succeed.

  In this position, he had to turn over the split-second timing to another team member to give the final signal; too soon and the plane could come crashing down on them, too late and the girls—most importantly the three-year-old—would drown.

  The hairs on his body tingled under his suit as two other divers prepared to follow him into the murky water, visible from the see-through door.

  “Go! Go!”

  Within a millisecond he was gliding through the water, toward a future that not even a body of water as vast as the ocean was strong enough to keep him from claiming.