Chapter 31
This wasn’t my first time in a helicopter, and each time I went up I swore I’d never fly in one again. It was worse today because I was already on edge. It wasn’t that I got airsick, exactly, but I always got a little queasy. Alice was sitting next to me, happy as a clam, staring out the window as we flew north toward Camp David.
Gerard had received a call from Zane, and, within minutes, there was an executive helicopter on the roof of Z Corps ready to take us to my dad and the rest of the guys. We were told there would be a Delta Force team following us and not to be alarmed, it was simply a safety precaution. Gerard hadn’t given us any information about my father’s condition, and I hoped, for my mom’s sake, he was okay. The past few hours had weighed heaviest on her. Yes, he was my father, and I loved him dearly, but he was my mother’s everything. If she lost him, I don’t know what she’d do.
The beautiful trees of the Catoctin National Park gave way to the retreat. I wanted off this aircraft and to find Colin. I needed to see for myself he was okay. That they all were. Looking around the cabin at Violet, Ivy, and Liv, I knew they were feeling the same as I was. Not to mention, Alice had been worried sick about Colin. Jasmin had stayed back with the twins, not feeling comfortable with them flying yet. She blew it off and said Linc would be home when he was done with his debriefing. But my cousin wasn’t fooling anyone, she was just as worried. I think everyone was right, the babies had softened her, but not in a bad way. The boys had brought out all the best parts of Jasmin. Sure, she was still as brash as ever, but she seemed to show her emotions more. I liked it.
“Two minutes,” Gerard mouthed.
He was the only one wearing a headset, staying in communication with the pilot.
I picked up my mom’s hand and was rewarded with a tight smile. “Everything’s fine.”
For all the reassuring my mom had done today, she didn’t sound fine.
My ears popped as the altitude changed, and it wasn’t long before the pilot gently put the helicopter down. Gerard held up his hand signaling for us to wait, I’d say he had mere moments before five anxious women rushed him and exited whether he wanted them to or not.
The blades whined down to a slow thrum, and the door was opened. Seven men dressed in all black, complete with covered faces stood outside.
Alice stiffened beside me. “It’s okay. Those are the good guys. They’re just making sure we’re safe.”
She didn’t speak but nodded. Gerard got out and helped my mother out before assisting the rest of us. My mother was straightening her skirt and otherwise making herself presentable. I knew it was a nervous habit, but with my nerves frayed I wanted to scream that no one cared how she looked. But I didn’t. Instead, I took my mom’s hand in one of mine and Alice’s in the other. Gerard took the lead and started walking toward the Fieldhouse. We were halfway there when Zane, Leo, Colin, Linc, Declan, and Jax came into view. The six of them looked like tall, strong avenging angels. Violet, Liv, and Ivy walked ahead and were nearly jogging. I didn’t dare let go of my mother and Alice. At first, I thought it was because they needed the support, but I realized it was for me. My legs felt like jelly, and my heart was beating so fast I was getting dizzy. He was safe. Alive. Sweet relief flooded my body.
But my dad was nowhere in sight. Which I told myself was because it was unsafe for him to be out in the open. However, I knew that wasn’t the case.
Colin waited for the three of us to approach while the others broke away and were ushered into the house. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and pepper his face with kisses, but I couldn’t my mom and Alice needed to be taken care of first.
“Did they task you as the one to give me the bad news?” my mom said to Colin when we stopped in front of him.
“Mother!” I scolded.
“It’s all right. Tell me.”
Colin’s gaze slid to mine and his eyes told me everything I needed to know. It was bad. And he needed my help.
“Alice, let’s let my mom and Colin talk for a moment.”
I placed my mom’s hand in Colin’s and pulled Alice off to the side. The two of us were greeted by three of the seven-man Delta team.
Alice hadn’t taken her eyes off my mom, and when Colin reached out for her just as she started to crumble, Alice let go of my hand and strode toward them.
I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to know what had caused my mom, the woman who’d always held her emotions in check in public, to break. It was bad, and I didn’t want to face it.
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, and when I started to struggle a familiar voice spoke, “I got you, Erin. Relax.”
Fletch.
Even though Colin was holding my crying mother, and speaking to his own, his gaze hadn’t left mine. He was silently giving me the strength I needed.
“Thank you. I’m fine now.”
Fletch’s arms loosened and fell, but I could still feel him standing behind me. Colin nodded and Fletch spoke, “Come on, he’s ready for you now.”
“I don’t know if I am.”
“Sure you are. You’re the strong and brave woman who went toe-to-toe with Colin back in Texas. You survived being run off the road and then kidnapped. You’re the woman who saved Colin’s life. You can do this, too.”
“I didn’t exactly save his life.”
“That’s not what we heard. Word on the street is Colin needed his beautiful woman to come to his rescue. Come on, before he storms over here and kicks my ass for keeping his girl away from him. He needs you.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh, yeah? Then you’re not paying attention.”
We began walking, Fletch pushing me along, closer and closer to the bad news I didn’t want to hear.
“Mama?”
“He’s fine, little rabbit. Everything is fine.”
“You don’t look like you’re fine.”
True to form, Clarissa Anderson pulled herself together and dabbed her face with a handkerchief, one of many I knew to be in her handbag. “I am fine. And it’s not polite to point out—”
“Stop, Mom. No one here cares. It’s okay to show how upset you are.”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears again. “I can’t. I’m afraid to go in and see him.”
My mom’s uncertainty triggered a deep strength I didn’t know I had. She needed me to be strong for her. “Come on, we’ll do it together.”
I looked up at Colin and, for the first time, I noticed he’d changed. He also had a white bandage around his arm. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing, sunshine.”
“But—” he shook his head, cutting me off. “Okay.”
With Alice wrapped in Colin’s embrace and my mother in mine, we walked the two women into the Fieldhouse.
My father was in the middle of the large room, pacing like a caged, wild animal. He stopped and turned to face us. Holy fuck. My mom gasped, Alice groaned, and I wanted to burst into tears seeing my daddy so badly beaten.
Dad saw Mom and he didn’t delay, he stalked over to us, pulled her from my arms, and held her to his big, broad chest as she cried.
“Rissa, baby, I’m okay. Everything’s okay.” My dad’s voice was gruff and thick with more emotion than I thought possible.
“Tommy,” she cried.
“I’m safe. We’re all safe.”
Colin pulled me against his side and kissed my cheek. “I love you, Erin.”
“God, I love you, too.”
My big, strong soon-to-be husband wrapped both his mom and me in his arms and held us close. Thank God, everyone was safe, or so I thought.
Chapter 32
“I’m sorry, sunshine, we have to debrief. It shouldn’t take that long.”
“We’re fine. Take your time,” Erin told me. “I’m just relieved to be standing here in front of you.”
She tried her best to smile. “There was never a doubt I was coming home to you. Or bringing your dad home. This will be fast, your dad isn�
��t going to let anyone take their time. He wants to get your mom home and soon.”
“She was trying to be strong all day. I mean, she was strong, but you could tell the longer it went on, the more upset she was getting.”
“And what about you? Are you okay?”
“I was scared,” she admitted. “But after all of us talked, I was reminded I had to trust in your ability, trust you’d come home to me. Once I did that, it made the wait easier. But—” She stopped and sucked in a breath before she leaned closer and whispered, “I was afraid they’d kill my dad before you could get there. In my head, I was planning for everything I’d have to do to help my mom,” she admitted.
“I’m so sorry you were scared. We weren’t going to let anything happen to your dad.”
“But sometimes shit happens, and you can’t control everything.”
She was more right than she knew. Shit did happen, bad shit to good people. But not this time, I tried to remind myself. This time the good guys won, and everyone came home.
“No, but we’re good at controlling what we can. Thank you for taking care of my mom.”
“You’re welcome. Go talk to the guys so we can go home.”
“Damn, I love it when you’re bossy. Your forehead crinkles, and you look fierce.”
“Are you saying I have wrinkles?” she mock-glared. “You have no idea what that comment cost you in expensive skin cream.”
How in the fuck it was possible I was smiling at a time like this was beyond me. I would’ve thought it inconceivable that not even two hours after being in a battle for my life I could be this happy. But I was. And it had everything to do with Erin.
“Be back soon.”
With one last, all too brief, kiss I headed to the other room where everyone was waiting on me. I passed by an agent standing at the door, and Tom’s concerned eyes came to me.
“How is she?”
“Shaken up.” His head fell forward, and I quickly added, “But you know Erin. She’s her father’s daughter. Nothing and no one is going to break her.”
“First, thank you all for your hand in today’s mission. As you’re aware, the world will never know how you saved my life, kept peace and order in our great country, and risked your own lives in the process. Being the quiet professionals you are, I know you don’t want the attention. But what you do have is my gratitude and that of my family.
“Wolf and his team are at the White House with Tex preparing the files I need. But before we get to that, we have a problem.”
Tom stopped and tapped a stack of papers on the desk in front of him.
“All the information we have on Omni is right here. As you can see, it isn’t much.”
“Who?” Hollywood, one of the Deltas, asked.
“A secret fraternity made up of the most powerful men on the planet. The Omni doesn’t discriminate. They have no country. Race, religion, region, or creed does not matter to them. Money and power are their currency. Today they sent a message, they’re more powerful than the president. If they can get to me, they can get to anyone. Their plan was brilliant and beautifully executed.”
“How’d they do it?” Coach, another Delta, asked the question we were all wondering.
“Remote control,” Tom answered. “Tex pulled the maintenance report for Marine One, every two-hundred cycles she gets a full service and recertification. According to the last report, there was a faulty flight control module. It was replaced. This has Omni written all over it.”
“You’re saying Omni has someone inside the HMX-1 and they replaced the control module with one they had remote access to?” Zane asked.
HMX-1 was the Marine Helicopter Squadron responsible for the transportation of the president. There was going to be one pissed off Marine Colonel back at the Marine Corps Air Facility.
“Not only Marine One, but the two follow helicopters, too. Or maybe the whole fleet for that matter.”
There was no missing the venom in Tom’s tone. This was worse than any of us could’ve ever imagined. And that was saying something, when it was just the NSA involved, and they were playing their spy games, it was a shitstorm. Now? We had entered into FUBAR territory—fucked up beyond all repair. If the Omni had infiltrated the United States government, we’d never get them out.
“How’d you get out of the box?” I asked, remembering the two dead secret service agents.
“I didn’t get out. I was let out. And the two men on my detail who opened the door soon found they were expendable. You know what they say about honor among thieves.”
Just as we’d assumed, the agents who’d gone with Tom were dirty. How fucking deep did this go?
“I need something from you, Zane. It’s more than I should be requesting.”
“Yet, you still are.” Zane chuckled. “Whatever you need, it’s yours.”
“I need Declan and the Gold Team to track Omni.”
Declan lifted his chin in acceptance and I wondered how his twin sister was going to feel about her brother being back in the field full-time.
“Done,” Zane announced.
“What are we doing about Angel?” Linc asked.
“That’s what Tex is working on now. I want all the intel wiped clean before I go public. There’s one thing the US population loves and that’s a good conspiracy, and I’m gonna give it to them. Omni has always had a veil of mystery surrounding them. They think they’re safe because they work in the darkest recesses of the world. Not anymore. I want the world to know we’re hunting. And I won’t stop until Declan and his team have tracked each and every one of them down. Militrix and Perkins will be the first two Omni to fall.”
“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt,” Erin stammered from the doorway.
“You’re never interrupting, dear,” Tom returned.
All the fine hairs on my neck stood up, and suddenly the mood electrified. A current pulsed through the room, and nineteen of the world’s deadliest men stood stock-still. They all felt it, too. Erin hadn’t moved or said anything other than to apologize, but it was the fear in her voice that had put us all on alert. Her arms were crossed awkwardly in front of her body, and I didn’t know if she was holding something or trying to stop her hands from shaking.
Her head snapped in my direction, and she asked, “What’s the color of the day?”
My hand automatically went for my weapon, so did the other eighteen men in the room, and I answered, “White.”
Her arms uncrossed in lightning speed, and before I could blink or register what was going on, she’d popped off two rounds. The secret service agent in front of her fell against the wall, dropping his gun before he hit the floor. Everything happened so quickly I hadn’t even noticed the man had drawn on her.
“Fuck!” someone shouted.
“Lower your gun, sunshine,” I said as I jogged to her. “Where’d you get that?”
“Gerard needs a doctor. He’s in the back hall by the pantry.” She was still holding the gun out in front of her. “His lapel.” She motioned the Smith & Wesson in the direction on the downed man. “His color is wrong. He’s wearing blue.”
As I studied the man on the floor’s presidential detail pin, Ghost, Fletch, and Truck rushed past us. He was indeed wearing the wrong color. Every day the outside ring of the pin changed colors. Sometimes more than once depending on the threat level. Why hadn’t any of us noticed? It was unacceptable. A huge fuck-up. An oversight that not only had deadly consequences but it would leave a lasting mark on Erin.
“Less than twenty-five feet. There’s no time to aim. Grip and trigger control,” she rambled. “I knew something was wrong when Gerard didn’t come back right away. He never makes my mom wait. She asked for tea. He . . .” She waved the gun at the man on the floor. “Went into the kitchen after Gerard. He came back empty handed. The color is wrong.”
For all the shakiness in Erin’s voice, she was holding it together pretty well considering there was a man bleeding out in front of her and the complete chao
s in the room around us. I tuned out everything going on around us, my only concern was Erin and getting the weapon out of her hand.
“Can I have the gun now, sunshine? You’re shaking pretty badly, I don’t want you drop it.”
“No. It’s Gerard’s. What if there are more? I want it.”
“Baby, there’s no one else left in this building.”
“But what if more come? I want the gun.”
Her voice was coming out more and more high-pitched. She was going to be pissed as hell, but I didn’t have a choice. I stepped toward her under the guise of hugging her and at the last second, I twisted the gun out of her hand.
“Colin!”
“You can have it back later,” I lied. “Right now, you’re shaking like a leaf and that’s a dangerous combo with a loaded gun in your hand.”
I clicked on the safety, shoved the weapon in the waistband of my cargos, and picked her up. Ignoring the pain in both my ribs and my arm, I carried her to a sofa and sat down.
“Is Gerard going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, but if anyone can patch him up, it’s Truck. Are you okay?”
“Is he dead?”
I smoothed the hair off her face and answered, “Yeah, baby, he’s dead.”
“I had to,” she cried.
“I know you did. You did good.”
Zane and my mom approached at the same time. While my mom sat on the couch next to us and took both of Erin’s hands in hers, Zane remained standing in front of us.
“He has the feather tattoo.”
Zane had snapped out of whatever funk he’d been in when we were in the basement and he was back to being the hardened warrior I knew him to be.
“Is Gold Team ready?” I asked.
“They leave tomorrow. How you holding up, Erin?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Zane crouched down to eye level and waited until he had Erin’s full attention.
Rescuing Erin (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Red Team Book 5) Page 21