“Nah. It’s a great name.”
His father had laughed. “For a single guy like you, sure, but once you have a family and my grandchildren start asking what the name means, I’ll tell them to ask their father.”
Gunner remembered wondering if he’d ever have children that would need explaining to. At the time, he doubted it very much.
“Ahem,” he heard his mother say. “Boxes?”
“On it, Ma.”
—:—
Zary had never felt so tired, even when she’d gone more than forty-eight hours without sleep on one of her assignments.
It was a good thing the vehicle Ava and Aine had picked her and Odette up in was an oversized SUV; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anywhere to put all the packages.
She still had to pick out gifts for the three women she was with today, but once she got in the swing of Christmas shopping, they’d given her plenty of unintentional hints about what they might like.
“I know you’re tired. I am too,” said Ava, sitting next to her in the back seat while Aine drove. “But did you have fun?”
She laughed. “Honestly?”
“Uh oh,” said Odette from the front passenger seat.
“No, it’s the opposite. It was magical.”
Ava squeezed Zary’s hand. “I’m so happy,” she whispered.
It had also taken her some time to get used to how much money she was spending. A couple of times she’d considered calling Gunner to make sure she wasn’t overdoing it, but Odette had reassured her.
“You looked like you had sticker shock in the last store,” she’d said as they were on their way into another.
“I’ve spent so much money,” she’d whispered.
“Oh, girl, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
“What about your mother?” Ava asked. “Did you see anything for her?”
“I saw too much. I couldn’t decide.”
“We can always go back out tomorrow before the wrapping party.”
Ava and Aine had invited her over to their suite to wrap everything they’d purchased today. Zary had no idea what to expect, but since she’d had so much fun today, she decided not to stress over it.
She looked out at the snow softly falling outside the SUV’s window, and thought about the conversation she and her mother had had two days ago.
“Devochka moya,” her mother began. “Nam nuzhno pogovorit’.”
Zary sat down and held her mother’s hands. “We don’t have to talk, not if it is too painful,” she answered in their native language, Azeri.
“You need to know.”
“They told me you and father were dead. They took me to an orphanage.”
Her mother looked away. “They told me you were dead too. Both of you.”
Her mother went on to explain that, at first, she’d stayed at the compound in the Old City until Rauf had come to get her to take her back to Armenia.
“I didn’t want to be alive. I tried to take my life,” her mother confessed. “They put me in a hospital for the insane.”
“How long were you there?”
“Many, many years. It was almost as though I had died like I’d wanted to. Only Rauf came to see me, and that wasn’t often. I expected to live there for the rest of my life.”
“How did you get to Baku?”
“Rauf was the one who came to get me from there. I asked where he was taking me, and he told me we had to return to the Old City. When I asked why, he said your father’s name.”
“And you were held prisoner there?” Zary asked.
“I had only been there two days before you were rescued. When Rauf told me you were alive, that we had been so close yet not seen each other, I felt my heart break all over again.”
“Had you seen Petrov?”
“Just once. He told me that Topor, what he called Rauf, had told him I’d gone insane. He said that he’d paid for my care all those years and it was time I paid him back.”
“How?”
“He warned me to do what he said, but until the night in the forest…” Her mother sobs were heart wrenching.
“No more, Mama. We’ll never speak of Petrov again. We’re both alive, and I’ll take care of you forever.”
She still hadn’t talked to Gunner about their conversation, except to mention Topor and the call from Losha, which really had nothing to do with her mother. Regardless, they needed to talk about it, and whether he’d come up with a place for Losha to stay. She hoped he wouldn’t suggest she come to the island with them, because she knew her friend would never agree to it.
—:—
“If anyone had said, ‘next year you and Gunner will be decorating the house for Christmas,’ I never would’ve believed them.”
“I would’ve been right there with you, Ma.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask.” It was a rote response in their house; both he and his father had said it so often.
“Are you and Zary going to get married?”
“I hope so, Ma. More than anything.”
“There she is now,” his mother said, looking out the window.
Gunner greeted her at the front door.
“What’s all this?” Zary asked, motioning toward the boxes strewn about the living room.
“We’re going to spend Christmas here instead of on the island.”
Zary’s eyes met his. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t think my mother would have it any other way.”
“He’s right,” she said, walking over to hug Zary. “How was shopping?”
“It was fun but…”
“You look exhausted,” murmured Gunner, rubbing her back.
“We can finish this up later. Go on now.” His mother nudged him toward the stairs.
—:—
“I told you I had a solution for both Topor and Losha,” Gunner began when they were upstairs with the bedroom door closed. “Having Christmas here means you won’t be stuck on an island with a man you aren’t sure you can trust.”
Zary nodded. “I don’t think Losha will feel comfortable coming here, Gunner.”
“I figured as much. What about the island? Do you think she’d be comfortable there?”
She didn’t see why not. “Actually, I think it would be perfect. But Gunner—”
“No one will know, Zary. I’ll take her there myself.”
“Before you do that, there’s something else you need to know.”
“Go ahead.” Gunner waited while Zary tried to figure out how to tell him something she wasn’t sure of herself.
“She might not be alone.”
Chapter 11
Ava and Razor
“How was shopping? Whoa, what’s all this?” Razor asked when he opened the back of the SUV.
“Most of it is Zary’s, but I bought a few things and so did Aine.”
Razor unloaded the packages onto a luggage cart. “Gunner called while you were out. He said we’re going to spend Christmas at his mother’s house instead of on the island.”
“Did he say why?”
“Space. His mother’s place is a lot bigger. In fact, this will be our last night here. We’ll move over there tomorrow. Which bears the question, why did you bring all of Zary’s purchases here anyway?”
“To wrap it all tomorrow. She was going to come here—”
“Slow down, Avarie,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “We have this room reserved for another three nights. I just thought you might want to spend the extra time with Zary.”
“Is his mother sure about us staying there?”
“Wait until you see this place. Oh, and your mom and my mom are already there. I guess I should’ve told you that first.”
“We did see it,” said Aine. “When we dropped Zary and Odette off. We just didn’t go inside.”
“Then you know it’s like a luxury hotel.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Positive. It’ll be great. You two
head to the suite. I’ll have the bellman help me bring the sleigh full of presents up there.”
—:—
“Are you okay?” Ava asked her sister.
“I’ll be fine. It isn’t like I’ve ever had a boyfriend at Christmas. This year is just like all the others.”
“You still have a boyfriend; he just can’t spend Christmas with you.”
“Do I? I don’t even know at this point.”
Ava knew Aine was heartbroken that she hadn’t heard anything from Striker since Thanksgiving. When she’d asked Tabon about it, all he said was that wherever he was, he was in deep.
“Can you ask Doc?”
“I did, sweetheart,” he’d said. “There’s nothing I can tell you.”
That meant he knew, but she shouldn’t ask any more questions.
“I wish I could wave a magic wand and get him here, sweetie,” she told Aine.
“Me too. But, Ava, can we stop talking about it?”
“Of course.” She looked at her phone and saw that Odette was calling. “Hi,” she answered.
“Change of plans. Did you unload the car yet?”
“Tabon is doing that right now.”
“Stop him. You’re coming here tonight. We’ll just put everything in the guest house.”
“He said we were going to stay here one more night.”
“Gunner just told me to tell you that he’s calling Razor now.”
She said goodbye, hung up, and went to look for her sister. She found her in the suite’s second bedroom, crying, and lay down next to her.
“I wish I had something I could say that would make you feel better.”
“I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“I’ll be right back,” Ava said when she heard a knock at the door. She hoped they didn’t get all the way up here with the packages already.
“We’re here!” screamed Tara and Penelope when she opened the door.
“Oh my gosh. Wow! What are you doing here? Wait. I mean, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Aine came out of the bedroom and ran up to hug their friends. “I’m so happy to see you both.”
“Come in.” Ava moved aside and waved the girls into the suite.
“How long are you staying?” Aine asked, noticing their bags like Ava had.
“We’re here for Christmas! Didn’t—”
“Surprise!” said Tabon, walking in behind them and over to Ava. “I thought they might help cheer up Aine,” he whispered.
“I love you so much,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Are they like this all the time?” she heard Penelope say to Aine, but she didn’t hear her sister’s response.
“I’m going to head over to the house and give you ladies some time alone,” Tabon said before kissing her cheek.
“I don’t know how to thank you for doing this,” she said, kissing his lips.
“I have a few ideas.” Tabon looked over at her sister and their friends. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Oh. What about…I mean, where will they stay?”
“Headed there to figure it out. Worst case, they’ll stay here.”
—:—
Razor was on his way down to the SUV when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw Doc was calling.
“Tell me you’re calling with good news.”
“The opposite, I’m afraid. Still no word.”
“Shit. This is bad.”
“I agree.”
“Can we go in and look?”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m calling. We need to put a team together.”
“Who are you thinking?”
“Dutch and Onyx. There are a couple of volunteers from the company too.”
“Who?”
“Messick and Jacks. Ever heard of them?”
“Ranger Messick started out in counterterrorism. Graduated from Syracuse’s INSCT program. Diesel Jacks is a language savant. Speaks twelve at last count. Went to Cornell; almost immediate post-grad recruitment. Both were on Striker’s core team.”
“You’re like a damn computer.”
“Want height and weight too?”
“No, thanks.”
“You sure about sending Dutch in?”
“He came to me.”
“Roger that. What else do you need from me?”
“I need you to look after Alegria. I know you have a lot going on right now, but she won’t come here.”
“You’ve asked?”
“No, but my gut tells me she won’t.”
“Where is she now?”
“She and Dutch are traveling. My understanding is they’ll arrive sometime tonight.”
“Does she know he’s deploying?”
“Negative.”
“Shit.”
“Sorry, Raze.”
“Don’t be. I got this.”
Instead of getting the SUV, Razor called his wife. “We have a situation.”
—:—
“What’s going on?”
“Can you go somewhere that Aine can’t hear you?”
“Sure. Give me a sec.” Ava went into the en-suite bathroom in their room and closed the door. “Okay. I can talk.”
“K19 is sending in a team…shit, Ava, you can’t say any of this to Aine. Do you promise me you won’t?”
She took a deep breath. “I won’t, Tabon, I promise.”
“Striker and Mantis are MIA.”
“Okay.”
“Dutch and Onyx are leading a team in, and that means Alegria is going to need our help.”
“Tell me what I can do.”
“Isn’t one of the girls planning to become a PA.”
“Pen, and she already is.”
“Perfect. I need to think this through, but I’ll get back to you in a few. Stay where you are.”
“Tabon?”
“Yeah, sweetheart.”
“You’re sending a team in. That means Striker is still alive, right?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Ava looked in the mirror and took several deep breaths. What she was about to do would be the hardest thing she’d ever done. She was going to have to lie to her twin, repeatedly. Some would be out-and-out lies and others would be lies of omission. She just prayed that Aine didn’t catch on to either.
—:—
Alegria wasn’t exactly a girly-girl, which meant convincing her to hang out with Ava’s best friends wasn’t going to be an easy sell. But, she was part of the K19 team, and as such, they had to give her the support she needed, even if she didn’t want it.
“How many bedrooms in the guest house?” Razor asked Gunner.
“Three. Why?”
“Who’s staying in it?”
“For Christ’s sake—why?”
Razor pulled Gunner outside. “There’s a team goin’ in after Striker and Mantis. Dutch is on it. He and Alegria are on their way here, and he’s shipping out tonight.”
Gunner scrubbed his face with his hand. “Let me think what my mother said. I’m pretty sure she had Dutch and Alegria penciled in. And Odette.”
“Can we move your sister?”
“Nice, Raze. Why? Princess Alegria needs her privacy?”
“Penelope and Tara are here.”
“What did you bring them in for, moral support?”
Razor looked out at the bay.
“You did, didn’t you?”
“Aine is my sister-in-law, and she’s f’ing miserable, and it’s Christmas.”
Gunner put his hands on his hips. “I don’t even recognize us anymore.”
“Me either.”
“Okay. Let me see where we can stick my sister.”
“Wait. Did you say it had three bedrooms?”
“Now what?”
“Well, Aine.”
“One of the bedrooms has two twin beds in it. Which means Odette can stay in the main house in the room Aine was slated for.”
“See? That wasn’t so bad.�
��
Gunner walked away, muttering, but Razor didn’t care. His mission was accomplished, at least the first part of it.
Chapter 12
Aine and Striker
As happy as she was to see Pen and Tara, the horrible feeling of missing Griffin stayed firmly planted in the middle of Aine’s chest. What was supposed to be the beginning of their relationship, had ended on Thanksgiving when he suddenly had to leave and couldn’t tell her where he was going.
That was the last time she’d seen him or heard his voice—outside of her dreams.
Every time Aine closed her eyes, she could see him. His blond hair was darker, and his eyes were a lighter shade of blue than hers were. Until he’d brought up their age difference, she hadn’t given it a second thought. His features were timeless, almost prince-like. It wasn’t just that his name sounded regal, like Ava had said; he looked it.
While he wasn’t as big muscle-wise as Gunner, Aine could attest that he was rock solid. With eight-pack abs, buff arms, and carved legs, he looked more like the special forces guy he was than a Prince Charming.
It was his vulnerability that had attracted her to him in the first place. When he’d walked down to the beach where her sister was marrying his teammate, he looked uncomfortable, unsure of himself. After spending time with Razor, Aine found the lack of arrogance refreshing.
She’d been more surprised than startled when he boldly approached her and started a conversation. She’d put her hand on her heart because it felt as though it would beat out of her chest from being so close to him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he’d said and introduced himself as Striker. Eventually he’d told her his name was actually Griffin Ellis, and the other thing he’d said was that she was beautiful.
When he mentioned being hungry, she led him up to the kitchen, where they’d made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and spent enough time talking that her mother had come looking for her.
Aine put her arms around her waist and closed her eyes. “Where are you?” she whispered. “When will you come back to me?”
Mistletoe (K19 Security Solutions Book 3) Page 8