“And?”
“She told me that Griffin and Mantis are the best of the best. Just because they’re out of contact, doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong. It only means that they don’t think it’s safe to make contact.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“So much. We talked almost all night.”
Ava folded her arms. “Are you going to make me keep asking what you talked about?”
“She told me about a few of their missions, without divulging any classified information, of course.”
“And?”
“There have been so many. She told me I’d get used to it. I’d always worry, but the more missions Griffin came back from safely, the more I’d trust how good he is at what he does.”
“She’s not worried about Mantis?”
“The way she put it, is that she’s worried, but she knows the team is made up of professionals who have been trained to do this kind of work.”
Ava wondered how much of what Aine was telling her she believed, and how much was her sister putting on a brave face.
“Did you hear about Gunner and Zary?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No. What happened?”
“They got engaged last night. Wait until you see her ring. It’s gorgeous.”
“Come on,” said Aine, pulling her up from where she’d sat on the bed. “Let’s go wake her up.”
—:—
“What’s going on?” Gunner asked Razor.
“With what?”
“Don’t pull that with me. You’re acting…sneaky.”
Razor laughed out loud. “Oh, yeah? I’m sneaky? Good thing I got into the line of work I did.”
“You know damn well what I mean. You’re up to something.”
Razor shrugged. “You’re imagining things.”
“The hell I am,” Gunner grumbled, walking away.
Razor breathed a very temporary sigh of relief. If Ava and Zary didn’t get up soon, the surprise he had planned would be ruined.
He bounded up the stairs two at a time, but when he got to the bedroom he and Ava had slept in, it was empty. Seconds later, he heard her voice down the hallway.
“Good morning,” he said, walking into the room where she was talking to Zary and Aine. “The three of you do realize it’s Christmas, right?”
“Aine said you were letting us sleep in.”
“And we were, but how much longer do you think we can hold off Sierra and Savannah?”
“I forgot about them,” Ava gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Those poor little girls. Why didn’t you wake us up?”
“No need to get violent,” he said when she swatted him. Razor looked over at Zary, who had the sheet pulled up to her neck.
“Uh, I think we should give your sister some privacy.” He took Ava and Aine by the hand and pulled them toward the door.
“Hurry up,” Ava hollered back at Zary.
“I’ll be right down after I dress,” she hollered back.
Ava wrenched her hand from Razor’s. “Give me a sec,” she said and walked back to the bedroom door. “It’s Christmas; you’re supposed to stay in your pajamas.”
When Zary didn’t answer, Ava walked back over to him. “Okay, Mr. Pushy, let’s hurry up and get downstairs.”
He nuzzled up against her and pushed her in the direction of their bedroom. “We could take a quick detour.”
“No way,” she smirked. “We can’t hold off Savannah and Sierra any longer.”
Razor left Ava in the kitchen and went to look for Gunner’s sister.
“You were a damn good actress last night,” Razor said to Odette as he followed her out to the garage.
“It’s a good thing my dad had heaters installed out here.”
—:—
“Where did Tabon disappear to?” Ava asked when Zary came downstairs. “Everyone is here but him, now.” She stood to go look for him.
“Odette is missing too,” said Madeline.
Ava heard the front door open, followed by the sound of a small herd of elephants bounding in.
“Puppies!” Savannah and Sierra squealed, trying to corral the three little balls of fur.
“Whose are they?” Sierra asked, giggling when the one she caught licked her face.
“That one is yours and Sierra’s,” Saylor told her daughter.
“And this one is ours.” Tabon handed her the puppy he’d scooped up.
“And what about that one?” Ava asked, pointing to the puppy nuzzling against Zary.
“That one is Gui,” Odette answered, looking at Gunner.
“Seriously?” he asked.
“Yep,” she smiled.
“How could you tell the difference?” asked Ava. “They all look alike. What kind of dogs are they?”
“Odette and I decided that they’d pick their owners, and they did, and they’re mutts. When the shelter told us they had three from the same litter, we scooped them up.”
“Hey, Sis?” said Gunner.
“Yeah,” answered Odette.
“Would you mind if we called him Mistletoe?”
She laughed. “Call him whatever you want. He’s your puppy. I’m just his auntie.”
“That means you’re an auntie too,” Ava said to Aine as she put the puppy in her sister’s arms.
“He’s so sweet,” she murmured.
“Uh, I think he’s a she,” said Tabon, lifting the puppy’s tail.
“What should we name her?” Ava asked, scratching the puppy’s ears.
“We’re naming ours Jingle Bells,” shouted the girls, who were rolling around the floor while their dog jumped over them and back again.
“How about Dasher?” suggested Aine when the puppy squirmed out of her arms and raced across the room.
“Perfect,” said Ava, looking at Tabon, who nodded.
“This is the best Christmas ever,” said Sierra, hugging her mom.
“I agree,” whispered Tabon, kissing Ava’s cheek.
“Me too,” she whispered back.
Chapter 16
Aine and Striker
“The boss isn’t gonna like this,” Onyx said.
“Which boss is that? Because from where I sit, we’re all the boss.”
“I’ll tell Doc you said that when he rips me a new one.”
“It’s Christmas. He’s not going to do any such thing.”
—:—
Aine rested her head on her mother’s shoulder.
“I’m proud of you,” she said.
“Me? Why?” Aine asked.
“I know how worried you are, but you aren’t showing a bit of it to anyone in this room.”
“I’m okay—”
Her mother kissed her cheek. “Neither of you girls think I know anything about you, but you’re wrong. I admit that I wasn’t a very good mother to you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t tell when you’re hurting.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“What for?”
“That you think that about us.”
“How could you not, sweetheart? I’m the first to admit I wasn’t there for either of you when I should’ve been. If you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you and your sister.”
“As long as you’re part of our lives, that’ll be enough for us, Mom.”
—:—
“Can’t you drive any faster?”
“I didn’t fly all the way back from Africa just to get in a car accident on the damn Maryland Turnpike.”
“If you don’t hurry up, Christmas is going to be over.”
—:—
“I’m so full,” said Ava, rubbing her belly.
“And yet, you’ll be eating again in a half hour.”
Her sister pouted. “That isn’t very nice, Aine.”
“Tellin’ like it is, Sis.”
“Where are you going?” Ava asked when Aine got off the sofa.
“To clean up.”
“I’ll help.”
�
�No. Stay there. If you get up, Dasher will too, and I don’t feel like chasing her all over the house.”
“Is that how you’re going to be with your niece or nephew?”
“Only if he or she comes out of the womb walking.”
Aine rubbed her neck and went into the kitchen.
“Tired?” her mother asked.
“Yeah. Wait. What happened in here?”
“What do you mean?” Razor’s mother asked.
“Ten minutes ago, it was a wreck.”
“It was more like thirty minutes ago,” said Madeline, putting her arm around Svetlana’s shoulders.
“It’s called teamwork, darling,” said her mother. “Don’t you know that moms are the ones who really rule the world?”
“I believe it,” she murmured, looking at the spotless counters.
“Oh no,” Madeline gasped when she heard the doorbell followed by the raucous of barking puppies. “Who could that be at this hour? It’s after nine o’clock.”
“Hey, Aine?” she heard her sister call. “I need your help for a minute.”
“She’s gonna be like this until she has the baby, isn’t she?” she said to her mother.
“Longer.” She laughed. “Most likely until that baby is off to college.”
“Aine?” she heard her sister yell again.
“Coming, princess,” she yelled back.
—:—
There was no more beautiful sight in the world than the look on Aine’s face when she came out of the kitchen. She smiled and cried—all at once.
“Hi,” he said as she ran into his arms.
“Griffin? Oh my God. Are you real?”
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I got here as fast as I could.”
“How? When? How?” she asked, not giving him a chance to answer between her endless stream of kisses.
Striker glanced at all the eyes around the room focused solely on them. “If you all wouldn’t mind excusing us, I’m sure Onyx will answer whatever questions you have. Right, buddy?” Striker squeezed his teammate’s shoulder as he led Aine out of the room.
“Is there somewhere private we can talk?” Striker asked her.
“Come with me,” she answered, leading him through the house.
“What the hell, how big is this place?” he commented as they went from room to room until they reached the door that led to the enclosed porch.
“Tell me what happened. I was so worried. How did Onyx find you?”
“We have all the time in the world for that, Aine. Right now, I want to hear about you. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too. So much.”
Striker kissed her and pulled her body flush with his. “All I could think about was how I didn’t want you to spend Christmas alone.”
“I wasn’t. As you could see, there’s a houseful of people here.”
“I meant without me.”
Aine smiled. “I know. I’m so happy to see you.”
“I have a condo about an hour from here, would—”
“Yes.”
“Yes, you want to go, or yes, you’d mind?”
“Yes, I want to go, as soon as you do.”
“How about right now?”
“You don’t have to talk to anyone, or…”
“I’m here to see you. I don’t give reindeer poop about anyone else.”
Aine laughed, and it was such a sweet sound. There was only one sweeter, and he intended to hear it over and over again once they were at his condo and alone.
—:—
“Merry Christmas, everyone!” Aine shouted as she and Griffin stood by the front door and waved.
“I guess you’re gonna want these, Striker,” said Onyx, handing him a set of keys.
“Thanks, man. Uh, I don’t really care right now, but what are you gonna do for a ride?”
“I haven’t slept in over thirty-six hours. The only thing I need right now is a flat surface to fall asleep on.”
“Come with me,” said Madeline. “I have the perfect place for you to get some rest.”
“Where are you taking him?” asked Gunner.
“He’ll sleep in my room tonight,” she told her son. “I’ll sleep in the guest house with the girls.”
“No, ma’am, I can’t do that,” Aine heard Onyx say.
“He can sleep in my room,” said Peggy, walking up to Onyx. “I don’t know how you did it, but you brought Griffin back to my daughter, and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful. I’ll be the one who sleeps in the guest house with the girls tonight.”
“Should we sneak out now?” Striker asked.
“Let me just say goodnight to my mom. She deserves a hug for saying that to Onyx. He does too, actually.”
Griffin put his arm around Aine’s shoulder. “You can hug your mom, but I don’t want Onyx anywhere near you?”
“Why not?”
Griffin made a growling sound. “You’re mine.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “I can thank the man.”
She twisted away and walked over to her mom.
“Thanks,” she told her, hugging her tight.
“I’m happy for you, baby girl.”
Aine felt herself tearing up, and pulled away.
“Thank you,” she said to Onyx, stepping forward to hug him.
“Look!” shouted Sierra. “You’re under the mistletoe. You’re supposed to kiss.”
Before Aine could react, she felt Griffin’s hand on her arm. He made the growling sound again. “Get outta here, Onyx,” he said before he covered her mouth with his.
What Aine thought would be a chaste kiss so they could leave quickly, turned into one that foreshadowed the night to come.
“Let’s go somewhere we don’t have an audience,” she murmured.
“I’m with you, sweetheart.”
They waved a final goodbye and walked out to the car Griffin and Onyx had arrived in.
“I can’t wait to get you alone,” he said, kissing her as he opened the passenger door for her.
“I can’t wait either.”
“My place might be a little chilly, I haven’t been home for a while.”
“I don’t care. You’ll keep me warm.”
“You got that right.”
—:—
The hour-long drive to his house felt five times that long. Every few seconds, Striker would look over at Aine, whose eyes never wavered from him.
“Do you know how happy I am to be with you?” he asked.
“It can’t be half as happy as I am.”
Striker brought her hand to his lips. “I thought about you every minute.”
For the first time, she looked away from him.
“Talk to me, Aine. What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing,” she answered, shaking her head.
“No. Come on. You promised you’d talk things out with me.”
“It can wait, Griffin.”
“You either tell me what’s bothering you now, or I’ll pull this car over, and we’ll park until you do.”
“I know I’m not supposed to ask, though.”
“You want to know what happened.”
Aine nodded.
“I’ll tell you now, but once we get to my place, we won’t talk about it again. Fair enough?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“It isn’t exactly a Christmas story.”
“I know that, Griffin.”
“The call I got on Thanksgiving was to inform me that two of the men who were part of my core team at the agency had been kidnapped in Somalia.” He looked over at Aine, who nodded.
“Go ahead,” she murmured.
“The intel indicated that the kidnappers were Somali pirates—who, historically, are unorganized, under-funded, and that’s if they’re funded at all. By the time Mantis and I got to headquarters, the ransom call had come in.”
“To the CIA?”
“Yes, and no. Tackle and Halo were undercover as journalists in Somalia. Th
e ‘newspaper’ the pirates contacted was actually a direct line to the agency.”
“Tackle and Halo?”
“Knox ‘Halo’ Clarkson and Landry ‘Tackle’ Sorenson.”
“Where are they now?”
“With their families, and don’t ask what that cost me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say their current supervisor wanted them to hang around for a briefing, and I disagreed.”
“I see. How did you find them?”
Striker scrubbed his face with his hand. “You need to understand that what I do, isn’t always…pretty.”
“If you can’t tell me, I understand.”
He took a deep breath. “Mantis and I tracked the pirates to a remote part of Somalia, but we were seriously outnumbered. Worse, we had no means of communication. We decided that Mantis would go back to Mogadishu to get reinforcements while I continued to stake out the pirates.”
When the Somalis went in the direction from which they came, Striker almost shouted out in happiness. If they were returning to Mogadishu, that meant two things. First, that he’d be able to get in touch with someone back home and get backup. The second thing it meant was he’d reconnect with Mantis, who had probably already called in the cavalry.
It wasn’t difficult for him to nab a vehicle. He’d found a lone Somali about to get in one of their decrepit-looking AWD vehicles, hit him over the head with his gun and knocked him out, and pulled him into a grove of trees. He took the man’s clothes, changed into them, and fell into their convoy.
No one paid attention to him during the drive in from the desert, and once he got into the city, he immediately signaled for help.
“We were just headed your way,” Dutch told him when Striker answered his call. “We picked up your twenty about five minutes ago.”
“You got Mantis?” Striker asked.
“Negative. He’s not with you?”
“No, but he’s here in Mogadishu. You haven’t been able to track him?”
“Again, that’s a negative, sir.”
Striker shook his head, willing a good reason for Mantis to be out of range of contact.
“There are six Somalis transporting Halo and Tackle in. Who’s with you?”
Mistletoe (K19 Security Solutions Book 3) Page 11