The TEAM. My team. Damn.
Reality suffocated the resolve he’d started with. “I’ll tell you everything I know right now. Alex’s will directed Harley, David, and me to take over the business. None of you will lose your jobs. You guys should already know that. If you have any questions, come see one of us.”
He sucked in a slow breath, relieved that the corners of Gabe’s mouth twitched with the smallest smile. Good. The guy needed a measure of reassurance after what he’d lived through. “The minute the Bureau clears the crime scene across the street, I want a team on the roof to verify what happened. Check ballistics. Traffic cams. Everything. We’ll find the SOBs who gunned Alex down. I can promise you that. Mother, call the county or city offices and find out how to exhume a body.”
Everyone’s brows lifted at that quick shift in direction. A couple agents gasped. Well, hunker down guys. We’re in this for the long haul.
“I know how it sounds, but Kelsey’s struggling. She thinks she wants to exhume Alex’s body. I’m hoping she changes her mind before we bring in a backhoe, but until then we’ll proceed with finding out how to do what she’s asked.”
Mark drew in a deep breath. “Taylor and Izza, the second Ember finds that list, I want you to track down every last name on it. Find out where those ten bastards live, what they ate for breakfast, and who their proctologists are. Everything.” The more he talked, the more the weight of responsibility lifted from his shoulders. Delegation definitely spread the load.
“You got it,” Izza muttered.
Taylor nodded one curt affirmative.
“Zack. Gabe. Pack up. You’re going to stay with Kelsey for a while, maybe as long as a month.”
Gabe’s brows furrowed. Standing watch over a grieving widow was an unusual assignment for two ex-snipers and top-notch undercover operators, but he needed this assignment more than anyone else. “Sure. I can do that. Be glad to,” he said.
“It’ll be our pleasure. You think whoever killed Alex will go after her, too?” Zack asked.
“It’s possible. I’ve asked Alexandria PD to keep an eye on her, but I’d feel better if we were posted at the house. I think she’d like having you guys with her, too. At least until she catches her balance.”
“Do we know who killed him yet?” Gabe asked.
Several other agents glanced at the poor guy. He must not have been listening to the earlier assignment, a minor infraction for a man carrying a shitload of guilt.
His innocent question sparked Harley’s temper. “Don’t be stupid, Cartwright. It was one of those jerks he didn’t hire. Who else?”
“Right now, we’re assuming that’s who killed him,” Mark intervened. “Until the FBI lets us into the crime scene across the street, we can’t be absolutely sure.”
“Well, I’m sure.” Harley glared at Gabe. “Hell. I’m not an idiot.”
Regret washed over Gabe’s face. Okay, so maybe Harley blamed Gabe for Alex’s death, another problem Mark hadn’t seen coming, but enough was enough. The TEAM was running on empty, Gabe maybe most of all.
Mark intervened again. “Gabe, listen. I need someone to stand with Kelsey. She needs her friends around her. Will you do that for me? For her?”
He nodded, swallowing hard. “Sure. Like Zack said. My pleasure.”
Harley gave an impatient growl, but Mark kept going. “I know it sounds like overkill, but yes. On the long shot that someone might go after Kelsey, I want you guys to set up a perimeter around her house. Alex had a top-of-the-line security system installed. Use it. Push external coverage to a three-house radius for now. Maybe it’s my paranoia, but let’s stay close to her until we’re sure what’s going on. Sound good?”
“Yes, Boss.”
Gabe’s automatic response startled Mark again. They had to understand. “I’m not the boss here, guys. That was Alex. I’m just... me.”
Blinking hard, Gabe opened his mouth to speak. Fortunately, Zack interrupted the awkward moment. “Maybe we’ll do some painting while we’re there. She’d like that.”
“Good idea. Just take care of her, okay?”
Mark faced The TEAM. His team. Grief stared back. Despite bossing Steven earlier, Mother dabbed tissues against both eyes. Rory had Ember in a loving stranglehold while Izza and Connor both blinked fast and hard to keep their tears at bay. Softhearted Connor lost the contest.
Taylor looked every bit the fierce warrior he could be when needed. Harley’s hand came to rest firmly on Mark’s shoulder, his angst in control for the moment. Gabe looked ready to get the hell out of there, his fingers fluttering anxiously at his side and his feet tapping.
Still, Mark hesitated. Talking with his friends had never been so hard. The unsettling rumor that Alex wasn’t dead had surfaced and Harley had fed it. It had to end.
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but it needs to be said. I was there and I know what I saw. I watched Alex die. I couldn’t get my hands on him, and I didn’t administer CPR or first-aid like Gabe did, but he’s gone.” Mark took a deep breath, needing everyone onboard and moving forward. He measured his next words carefully. “Now that I’ve said that, you need to understand that I will stand by Kelsey with this exhumation order. I’ll go to the ends of the earth to help her through this next month or two. Or three. Or twelve. If exhuming Alex is what she wants, by hell that’s what we’ll do.”
“We’re going to visit with her tonight,” Rory offered. “Tyler wants to see his Grandma Kelsey.”
“He drew a big sunshine for her,” Ember said, a catch in her voice. “He pasted accordion arms on it. Said she needs a sunshine hug.”
“We’re going too,” Mark said. “Maybe we’ll see you there.”
Izza’s chin stuck out, masking grief with her usual mean-girl attitude. “Me and Connor are taking dinner in tomorrow night.” She glared even as she wiped her eyes. “Yeah, guys. I can cook. Never said I couldn’t.”
“Nancy and I will wait a couple days to visit then,” David said.
Mark clenched his jaw before emotion got the best of him. These people weren’t just team members. They were family. And that family was closing ranks around their heartbroken friend in her time of need.
He gave them the best he had left to offer. “No matter what happened or what happens from now on, I’m here to tell you three things. Alex believed in you. Kelsey believes in you. And I believe in you.”
Harley groaned and turned away. Mark kept going. It was a puny pep talk at best, but it was all he had to give. “Let’s make Alex proud one last time. Gabe and Zack, keep Kelsey safe. Harley, go home. Help Judy bring some happiness into the world.”
“Yeah, we need some good news for a change,” Ember said. “Hurry up. Get those baby boys here so I can kiss them and hug—”
Harley clutched his forehead with one hand, covering his eyes. His shoulders heaved. “We’re naming one of my boys... Alex.”
Ember went straight to him. She wrapped her arms around her friend while he fell apart. “I’m sorry. God, Harley. I’m just so damned sorry.”
Even stoic David wiped his eyes at the tender news. A baby named after their hard-as-nails boss? A shot straight to the heart.
Mark blinked the moisture out of his eyes, cleared his throat and said the only thing he could. “Dismissed.”
Chapter Four
Get me the hell outta here.
Gabe followed Zack away from the depressing doldrums that followed Death. Thank God and Greyhound they’d gotten tasked to assist Kelsey. The assignment might not be out of the country, but anything was better than being stuck at TEAM headquarters.
Besides, she’d set him straight at the viewing with a hug and a handful of tissues. Kelsey held no malice in her heart that he’d been there when the shots were fired, that he hadn’t been able to perform a miracle and save his boss. Gabe had outright asked for forgiveness, but received heartfelt gratitude instead.
“He always liked you,” she’d said. “You remind him of himself whe
n he was younger.”
That teary exchange forged a link like no other. He headed for his locker one level up on the third floor, damned sure nothing would happen to Kelsey.
A special ops man always kept his duffel packed, and his gear bag ready to travel at a moment’s notice. Gabe’s duffel held a five-day supply of clothes and personal items. He also carried an extra bag for his spare bionic foot. He’d left more than empty shells and bad memories back in the Mideast.
His gear bag was something else. He’d packed it with the usual medical trauma pack, lock-pick kit, fingerprint lift cards, heavy-duty flashlight, spare lithium batteries, one hundred feet of nylon cord, his twelve-inch USMC knife, a baseball cap, ear protection and safety glasses. A guy always had to be prepared, even at the boss’s house.
His boss’s old house. Ex-boss. Oh, hell. Kelsey’s house.
They stopped at the armory before they hit the elevator. It was nothing less than a vault, pure and simple. It housed an assortment of sniper rifles, sawed-off shotguns, grenade launchers, semi-automatic handguns, rifles, extra magazines, ammo—you name it. All small arms were stored in individual agent’s lockers within the vault. That had been Alex’s rule. No one carried on the job.
Gabe removed his SIG 290 from his locker and slung its holster over his shoulder. He secured five magazines into their plastic carrying case, and stuck a spare thigh-holster and a pocket pistol in his gear bag for added measure. It never hurt to be over-prepared, even if just standing watch over a sad lady friend.
Lastly, he included his laser scope, range finder, and a specialized digital camera for the lower rack on his pistol. “You think we’ll need night vision?”
Alex had recently procured the latest NVG helmets, newly designed and downright futuristic looking. If Zack gave the word, two of them would be added to the growing stack of gear on its way out the door with them.
“Hope not. Here.” Zack tossed a bag of dried dog treats. “Stow these instead.”
Gabe lifted the plastic bag to view the contents. “Didn’t know extra-large dog snacks were standard issue.”
“They are now.”
“We keep them in the armory?”
Zack grunted. “Why not? I’ve got a bag in my bottom desk drawer, too. A guy’s got to be prepared for anything and everything.”
It made sense. Zack always was one to take extra precaution. Gabe stowed the bag for the dogs Alex had left behind. Whisper and Smoke—the best tracking dogs in the state.
“You got the cameras and laptop? Tattle Tales?” he asked.
Tattle Tales were Mother’s invention, a pesky minute version of a video and audio transmitter, small enough to escape most detection.
Zack pointed to another set of nylon gear bags. “Already packed. Let’s stop for grub on the way. Don’t want to eat her out of house and home. You ready?”
“Hell, yeah.”
It took little time getting to Kelsey’s. She and Alex lived less than a mile from his business. Used to live. At least, Kelsey still lived there. Oh, hell.
Gabe growled at the obvious hole in his head. His brain didn’t seem able to move on any more than he could. Takes time.
His inner sniper’s sixth sense pinged the moment the Stewarts’ home came into view. No cars in the carport. “Thought the nurse was supposed to be here?”
“She was. Something’s not right.” Zack parked in the empty driveway.
“I’ll check out back.”
Gabe scrambled out of the SUV and headed into the backyard through the carport. Whisper and Smoke sat in their kennel, watching with bright black eyes while Zack unlatched the gate and proceeded toward the back door.
Nothing in the carport or back yard looked out of place. No foul play. He didn’t like that Kelsey was gone, but okay. Maybe she felt good enough to go shopping or something. No problem.
Zack opened the patio door, a key fob in his right hand. “Come on in. Let’s get settled.”
“You had a key?”
“Sure. Alex gave me one years ago. Never needed it until now.”
They no more than hit the front porch again when a red economy car zipped up to the opposite curb and parallel parked. A blond woman in powder-blue scrubs stepped out of the car with a bag of groceries in her arms.
“Looks like the nurse is back,” Gabe said. “Without Kelsey. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“You two must be the bodyguards Libby told me to expect. Where’s Mrs. Stewart?” she asked on her way up the walk.
“Don’t you know?” Gabe countered. An icy finger of dread snaked across the back of his neck. “Isn’t she with you?”
“No. I ran to the store for a few groceries. She was here when I left. Here.” She pushed the bag of groceries into his arms. “Looks like you guys know your way around. Go put this in the kitchen. Don’t drop the eggs. They need to go in the refrigerator. Top shelf.”
Gabe bristled. If Zack hadn’t been right behind him and already on his cell phone, he would’ve handed the bag back to the obnoxious woman and told her to do it herself. Instead, he did what she’d ordered. Women and their shopping. She’d bought a lot more than eggs.
“Hey, Mark. We might have a problem,” Zack said. “Need you to track Kelsey’s GPS. No. She’s not here.” He returned the phone to his hip holster. “You must be Miss Shelby.”
“Nurse Sullivan to you,” she answered peevishly. “And you are?”
“Agent Zack Lennox, ma’am.” Zack extended a handshake.
“Gabe Cartwright at your service,” Gabe offered the same, but she’d crossed her arms over her chest instead of accepting their offers.
“I don’t see why she needs two of you. This neighborhood’s a little rundown, but it’s not like she lives in Anacostia.”
“We come in pairs, ma’am.” Zack unclipped the vibrating phone from his holster and raised it to his ear. “She’s where?” He listened another second, hung up and turned to Gabe. “We’ve got to go. Now.”
“Where?” Nurse Sullivan asked, but Zack didn’t answer on his way out of the house. “Wait. She’s my patient. I’m going with you.”
“Then get in.” Already in the SUV, he slammed the vehicle door and started the engine. “It might be nothing, but she’s parked off the Mount Vernon Highway by the Potomac. Mark’s sending coordinates.”
Gabe buckled his seatbelt while Nurse Sullivan got into the backseat and did the same.
“What’s she doing all the way out there?” she asked.
“You tell me.” Zack put his foot to the floor and screeched out of the driveway. “How’d she seem this morning?”
“How do you think she seemed? She’s grieving. This is hard on her.”
“How long were you gone?” Gabe asked. Sullivan wasn’t bad looking. Bossy as hell, but not too hard on the eyes. Blondes always did attract him, damned if he knew why. Had to be that California girl mystique the Beach Boys always sang about. Whatever it was, this woman had it.
“Not long. Maybe an hour and a half is all. I needed eggs for breakfast.”
Gabe rolled the twinge of aggravation out of his neck. There was a helluva lot more than eggs in that grocery bag. Right out of California nights or not, Nurse Sullivan had a nasty air of superiority that tested his patience, and he didn’t have much. Ninety minutes could be a damned long time for a woman at risk.
As usual, Zack stuck his foot in it and the vehicle flew. There was no sign of Kelsey’s small blue sedan at the coordinates Mark sent—not that it mattered. You couldn’t miss the flashing red and blue emergency lights or the bright yellow police tape. By the time Zack rolled the vehicle to a stop, Gabe had his feet on the ground.
Zack headed for the sheriff’s car, Miss Sullivan on his six. Two local sheriff cars, one fire engine, a tow truck, and an ambulance stood with engines running and lights flashing. A long section of the road had been cordoned off with police tape while an officer routed traffic around the scene of what, Gabe couldn’t tell. No cars. No accident.
He ran to the rear gate of the ambulance where two medics leaned against the back bumper, their arms crossed, watching the tow truck winch a car out of the river. Kelsey’s car.
“Where is she?”
One medic lifted off the bumper. “Don’t ask us. All we know is we’ve got one car in the river, but no driver. If you know anything, you need to be talking with the sheriff.”
Gabe pivoted, his heart in his throat. He teetered back on his good foot, the life knocked out of him all over again. God. This can’t be happening.
“Kelsey Stewart,” he said hoarsely. “That’s her car. She’s my... friend.”
“Listen, man.” The medic cupped Gabe’s elbow. “You’d better take a seat with us before you fall down.”
“No. I’m good.” Gabe brushed the kind suggestion aside, not willing to admit he wasn’t as sure-footed as he’d like to be, but could things get any worse?
He headed toward the tow truck, its rear wheels still in the river, while Zack talked with one of the deputies.
Nurse Sullivan ditched Zack and tagged along with Gabe. “The deputy said if she’s not here at the scene then she’s in the river. He doesn’t think we’ll find her alive.”
“Not Kelsey,” Gabe ground out.
Sullivan seemed to be one of those types who needed to yak when they got nervous. “But he said it’s the only thing that makes sense, especially since she was a grieving widow. Said he sees this all the time. An emotional woman loses control of her car on a turn, and—”
Gabe spun on his good heel, not going to entertain that idiotic conclusion for one second. “Not Kelsey, damn it. You don’t know her like I do. And there’s no turn on this stretch of highway. Why don’t you look at the evidence before you jump to conclusions?” And why don’t you leave me the hell alone?
“What evidence? All I see is mud and first responders.”
Gabe (In the Company of Snipers Book 8) Page 4