Finding the Way Back: A Stealth Ops Novel

by Sahin, Brittney

  “From what I’m hearing, the American people have reacted favorably to Kathleen’s announcement. They’re calling her a Cold War hero.” Harper thumbed through the updates on her phone. She’d been keeping up with the press’s feedback since his mom had shocked the world with the news about her past.

  If the public had reacted negatively, he didn’t think his team would’ve had a chance at returning come 2021.

  His mom had only spoken about herself, choosing to allow her fellow colleagues to come forward in their own time if they ever wanted to.

  As for Glenn, his name had been tossed around by the media more times than Knox could count during the press conference yesterday, but his mom had refused to talk about him.

  And what could she say?

  Nina’s mom had been selling intel to the Russians, and she’d discovered the CIA was onto her—the Polaroids Nina finally handed over to the Feds had proven that. But Glenn appeared to have acted alone, killing them, assuming everyone would blame the Russians.

  “Thank you for what you said about Aaron this morning, Mr. President,” A.J. spoke up a moment later.

  “He deserved the apology,” Rydell responded in a deep voice. “He’d been victimized because he served, and no man should have his name dragged through the mud after protecting our nation like that. He won’t be forgotten, I promise.”

  “Maybe Aaron will even work with us one of these days,” Luke said, glancing A.J.’s way.

  Rydell nodded and was quiet before saying, “I’ve decided to make veterans my main focus once I’m out of the Oval Office. I want to change how they’re treated in our nation. More medical help, too. Better jobs. No vets should be sleeping on park benches, for God’s sake.”

  “You tried to make a difference while in office, sir,” Luke reminded him.

  “I’ll probably have a better shot once I’m not a politician, to be honest. I can start a foundation and—”

  “I, uh, have a trust fund I’ve never touched,” Knox said, nearly forgetting about the seventy-five million dollars that’d been sitting in his account since he’d turned twenty-five. He’d never cared about money, but that money could be used to help others. “I’ll sign the trust over to the foundation.”

  Luke looked up at Knox. “I’ve got some money, too.”

  “I don’t have much, but I’ll do what I can to help our people,” A.J. said.

  The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

  “No matter what happens come November, we stick together, okay?” Knox’s gaze journeyed around the table to view his entire team. Jessica had flown in and was next to Asher. And Bravo Two had joined via Skype.

  “No matter what,” they repeated, and their words echoed throughout the room so loud they could probably be heard all the way in Washington.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Two Days Later

  “You didn’t have to come to Texas to check on me, but it’s nice of you.” Adriana settled on her bed after she’d done her required exercise, which consisted of walking a few laps around the hospital floor to prevent blood clots in her legs.

  “How could I not? We girls have to stick together.” Agent Quinn glanced around the room filled with balloons and flowers, none of which were from Knox, because he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t a balloons and flowers kind of girl.

  He’d brought the peanut butter and the chocolates, which they’d both consumed while binge-watching her favorite movies on the tablet.

  “How’s Mendez handling what happened?” She pulled the covers up and resisted a slight groan at the pain in her side where she’d been shot. She’d been lucky the bullet had missed all her vital organs, or she may have not been there. “You know, how wrong he was about everything.”

  “I don’t think any of us saw the whole Glenn Sterling thing coming. Or Kathleen Bennett being a badass spy.” She sat next to her bed. “We did a deep dive into Glenn’s history. We couldn’t find anything that would suggest he sold intel to the Russians, so I’m thinking he really did have Nina’s parents killed to protect his team.”

  “And his affair.”

  Quinn rolled her tongue over her front teeth, her lips covered in a nude gloss. Her light auburn hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, but she was in jeans and a soft pink T-shirt, not her typical FBI look.

  “But still no leads on his whereabouts?” She knew it was driving Knox and his teammates crazy not knowing where Glenn was, but she was nervous about what would happen once they found him.

  Knox wasn’t a vigilante. He wouldn’t commit murder out of revenge.

  But Glenn almost took her from him. He almost stole her life, and so, yeah, Knox was beyond pissed.

  They’d talked a lot about the future since she’d been in bed, and as much as it pained him, he was on the same page as her. He’d support her job, and she’d support his. No matter what.

  “We have every agent in the country looking for Glenn. I hope we find him before your buddies do,” Quinn said before Knox and A.J. entered the room. “Just you two, huh? Where’s the rest of ya?”

  “Working like you should be.” A.J. winked, which was probably a shit idea because Quinn didn’t seem like a woman who’d go for that.

  Knox moved straight for the bed and knelt next to her. “How are you?”

  “Same as I was ten minutes ago when you were here.” She leaned closer and whispered, “You hear anything?”

  He pulled back and nodded.

  There was a darkness in his eyes.

  An almost angry gleam, but it wasn’t pointed at her.

  And that meant only one thing.

  He knew Glenn’s location.

  “You ever gonna give me that first name of yours?” A.J. asked Quinn, but Adriana couldn’t take her eyes off Knox, worry ratcheting higher inside of her.

  “I thought it was your handsome friend with the British accent who’d asked for it,” Quinn replied.

  “I’ve never heard Wyatt described as handsome,” he drawled, humor in his tone. “Stubborn. Bull-headed. Has that whole bad boy look going for him—sure. But handsome?”

  “Oh, he’s good-looking. And for the record, maybe I like a little bad every once in a while.” She stood. “See you around, Foster.” And wow, she winked back at A.J. before leaving.

  A.J. fell to his knees once she was gone and gripped his chest. “Holy shit, I think I’m in love.” He hung his head.

  “Easy, cowboy.” Knox stood upright.

  “No way is she still married,” A.J. said. “Divorced, maybe. But damn, that woman’s got a fire in her belly.”

  “We don’t have time for you to be drawing hearts with y’all’s names inside of them right now,” Knox said.

  Adriana tried to sit up higher, but pain radiated in her side, and she cursed under her breath.

  “Why won’t you increase your pain meds?” Knox scowled at her.

  “I will if you stay here and don’t go after Glenn.” She pressed her palms on both sides of the bed and held his eyes, hoping to God he’d stand down on this one and let the Feds handle it. There was too much on the line.

  “He shot you, Addy,” he said through barely parted lips.

  “No, he hired someone to kill Nina,” she corrected, hoping to get through to him.

  “We won’t shoot him.” A.J.’s words pulled her focus to him. “We want a word or two before we toss his ass in the can.”

  “Sure.” She shook her head.

  “Can we have a sec?” Knox asked A.J.

  “Don’t leave me,” she begged once they were alone.

  Her words were the ammunition she needed to keep him in that room, even if she felt guilty for using them.

  “I’m sorry,” she rushed out. “I should never ask you to choose between staying with me and protecting the team.” She sealed her eyes tight. “You should go.”

  He let go of her a minute later, and she couldn’t open her eyes, because then he’d see that scared fifteen-year-old girl and not the wom
an she’d become. The tears would touch her cheeks. She couldn’t risk it.

  “A.J., get Quinn back in here.” Knox’s words had her eyes flashing open.

  “What’s up?” Quinn peeked into the room a moment later.

  Knox stood alongside her bed, offering her his profile. “We know where Glenn is,” he said in a low voice.

  “And you’re going to tell me?” Quinn asked in surprise.

  Knox’s hands went to his hips, and she knew it took all of his strength to say yes.

  “I guess we are,” A.J. said reluctantly, eying Knox with a what-in-the-Sam-hell look on his face.

  “Get Luke on the phone,” he told A.J. “He can fill her in.”

  “You’re making the right call,” Quinn said and glanced at A.J. “And the name is Anastasia, but I guess you can call me Ana.” She left the room and A.J. dropped his head against the interior frame of the door and slapped a palm to the wall.

  “You gonna go with her?” Knox asked.

  He straightened and flashed a quick smile Adriana’s way before disappearing into the hall.

  “You didn’t have to do that for me,” she said when A.J. left.

  He faced her, lowering his eyes to her mouth. “I did it because you were right. And I did it for us.” He dropped onto the seat next to the bed and dipped in for a quick kiss. “I can’t let the team go without me, and I can’t leave you behind.”

  “What happens on the next op?”

  “You mean if there is one?” His brows pulled together, a nervous look in his eyes.

  She reached for his hand and clutched it. “This isn’t the end for Bravo. For Echo. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to go in for a hot extract. Fast-rope into a compound or do a HALO jump—”

  “Now you’re just talking dirty to me.” He grinned, then leaned in and captured her lips again, kissing her hard before he said, “Say it again.” He pulled back to capture her eyes. “‘Hot extract.’ ‘HALO jump.’”

  “Adrenaline and action turn you on, too?” She purposefully raked her tongue slowly over her bottom lip.

  “It never did until you,” he whispered on a kiss.

  * * *

  Twelve Hours Later

  “Why do I feel like my heart might jump from my chest while I wait for them to call?” Adriana’s gaze traveled to Jessica and Asher sitting alongside her bed.

  They seemed like an unlikely couple. A tall, jacked guy with tatts. A genius blonde in charge. He appeared overprotective, and yet, she was confident and strong and surely could hold her own.

  They were adorable together. And it was nice to know that a love like theirs was possible in such an intense line of work. She didn’t need for it to give her hope about her and Knox because she trusted in her relationship with him, but seeing them together still made her feel better. More at ease.

  Knox gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she turned her attention to him.

  The rest of his team were somewhere, doing something . . .

  But since Knox, Asher, and Jessica were currently keeping her company, Adriana figured whatever that “something” was, it wasn’t dangerous.

  “It’s never easy being on this side,” Jessica said. “Most of the time I’m on the other side of the screen while these guys operate, holding my breath, waiting to see if everything goes okay.”

  She’d have to get used to it, though, because Knox didn’t want to leave Bravo, and she wanted him to be happy. Safe, too.

  Jessica placed a hand over her white tank top and massaged her flat stomach, still no signs of pregnancy. Asher placed his palm atop Jessica’s hand. “Can you feel him? Her?”

  “Way too early,” she said with a chuckle. “This is nausea.”

  “You don’t need to be in Texas. Go rest.” Adriana tipped her head to the door.

  “You took a bullet on an op with my guys.” Jessica leaned back in her chair. “I’m where I need to be.”

  “She’s as stubborn as you if you can believe it.” Knox grinned.

  “Now that can’t be possible,” Asher said, and Jessica smacked his arm.

  “Hits like you, too, apparently.” Knox laughed.

  She started to comment, but Jessica’s phone began ringing on her lap.

  “It’s Luke. He must know something.” Jessica stood and placed the call on speaker.

  “Glenn wanted to go out with a fight, but Quinn put his daughter on the phone and got him to surrender without anyone getting shot,” Luke announced.

  “Smart move.” Relief blew over his face, and Knox let go of a breath. “He say anything?”

  “He pretty much admitted everything we already knew,” Luke answered. “Quinn asked him why he didn’t put a hit on both your parents if he was trying to protect Leslie to make sure she made it to the White House.”

  “And?” Adriana asked.

  “He still believes in the democratic electoral process and wouldn’t want to influence the will of the American people by killing a candidate,” Luke said, surprise in his tone. “His words exactly.”

  Jessica’s eyes stretched, mirroring her brother’s surprise.

  “Crazy fucker,” Luke said. “Anyway, we’re wrapping up here in Tijuana. Heading your way soon.”

  “Thank you.” Knox said a few more words then ended the call.

  “Well, what the hell do we do now?” Asher folded his arms. “We have more than two months until the election before we find out what will happen to us.”

  Jessica bit her lip, and her eyes raked over the length of Asher.

  Yup, pregnancy hormones were in effect. The woman was horny.

  Asher cleared his throat. “We’re gonna, you know . . .” He laced his hand with Jessica’s. “See you later.”

  “I guess we’re not the only crazy ones who get turned on when—”

  “Babe, she’s like a sister,” Knox cut her off. “I don’t want to talk about her having sex.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

  “And what do you want to talk about?” she murmured.

  He grew quiet for a moment and gently cupped her chin. “Marry me.” A statement, not a question.

  “What?”

  He lifted his eyes to the ceiling for a second as if getting choked up.

  Before he managed to get out another response, or even look at her, she cried, “Yes.”

  His head dropped down, and his eyes touched upon hers. “I shouldn’t have done it here and in a hospital bed. It’s not romantic, but—”

  “Didn’t you hear me?” She smiled, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m saying yes.” She reached out and placed her palm inside of his.

  “But you have to promise me a few things.” His voice wavered a touch as if fighting a pull of emotion gathering in his chest.

  “No jumping in front of bullets for you?” She cocked her head and studied him, her lip quivering, emotion about to spill everywhere.

  “Well, yeah, but I was going to say to always keep the peanut butter on the top shelf. Buy another twenty pairs of those sexy PJs you have because I’ll probably destroy them daily when I rip them off you.” He edged closer, his eyes glossy. “And then I want you to give me a daughter who looks like you, who has the same heart and spirit.” His free hand braced the bed over her shoulder as he leaned in.

  “Oh? Anything else?” she asked, their lips nearly touching.

  “Of course.” He smiled. “She’ll be needing a brother for protection.”

  “Always with the protecting.” Her body was tired, but she didn’t care. She reached up and fisted the material of his shirt. “And maybe our daughter will be the one doing the protecting.” Her brow arched.

  “True. She’ll be stubborn like her mother.” He nipped her lip. “And strong like her, too.” He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her lightly before it turned into something so much more.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Eight Weeks Later

  “I didn’t expect we’d be so clothed on our honeymoon.” He kissed her shoulder, the stra
p of her dress off to the side.

  “Well, you’re the one that invited over twenty people on our honeymoon, and we’ll be late for dinner if we don’t leave now.”

  His dad had basically reserved an entire island for them as their wedding gift. “And it was your idea to do so,” he replied with a smile before bringing his mouth higher up her long, graceful neck.

  “If you give me a hickey, I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” He pulled back to find her eyes in the mirror as she stood so beautifully in her flowy pink dress. She was all his, and he couldn’t be prouder.

  “I’ll withhold sex from you tonight,” she said but couldn’t hide the quiver at the edges of her mouth, a mouth he wanted wrapped around his cock later.

  “This dress, though.” He held her tightly against him so she could feel his arousal pressing into her, so she would know what she did to him.

  He kept hold of her eyes in the mirror as his hand worked its way to the front slit of the dress and to her thigh.

  “Panties or no panties?” The pad of his thumb found her sweet spot. “Mm. No panties. You’re bad.” He fingered her tight pussy, watching in the mirror as her eyes fell closed and her hands dropped forward and onto the counter. “And you’ll be soaking wet for me all night now.”

  She moaned when he slid his fingers over her flesh in soft strokes, knowing what she liked.

  “I’m going to be hard as a rock all night thinking about you like this,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ll be picturing you with your eyes screwed tight, your tits swelling out of the top of this dress . . . the want. The need. And we’ll both lose our minds while we wait for the night to end all because you don’t want to be a little late.” He removed his hand in one fast movement and shifted away, offering her his back.

  “Charlie Jackson Bennett, you better turn your ass around right now,” she hissed, and he did as he was told, then brought his hand to his mouth, which smelled like sex. “We can be a few minutes late,” she said on a sigh.