“Don’t hurt me. I’m serious. I’ll pay anything you want!” Still face down in the mud, the fool squirmed against the bindings at his ankles and wrists. “Let me go. Please just—”
Alex rolled him over. The guy had his eyes squeezed so tight, he could’ve blown out a hemorrhoid. Alex pulled his knife from its nylon holster and cut the zip ties off his ex-employee’s ankles. “Shut up, Charlie.”
“Boss? Alex? What the—?”
“Get up.” Alex hooked an arm under Charlie’s and pulled him to his feet, but then he grabbed him again because the bastard was too weak to catch his balance.
“But... but... but...” Apparently, Charlie only knew one word. He panted heavily into the chilly night air, sagging against Alex’s arm. They walked three feet before Charlie’s legs buckled again.
“On your feet, Oakes.” Alex pulled his hapless ex-agent upright.
They staggered a short ways before Charlie dropped to his knees. “I can’t. I’m tired. I’m cold. I just... can’t.”
Alex jerked him upright one last time. “Shut up and walk or I’ll leave your sorry ass here.”
Charlie got to his feet and walked, staggered, and stumbled to the asphalt pathway that circled the pond. Alex looked to the left and then to the right to make sure the danger was gone. He pulled Charlie to the left with him.
“How far? Damn them, they stole my shoes.”
“Not far,” Alex replied evenly. He’d caught his second wind. The cold night felt brisk and invigorating in soaking wet clothes and shoes, but he’d planned for that. Apparently, Charlie didn’t plan so good.
“How... how...” Charlie stammered without getting to the point.
“Been watching you all day.” Alex kept walking and dragging.
“But... but...”
“Yeah.” Alex faced due south, the way he came. “They definitely meant to kill you.”
“They... they...”
“They intercepted you at the bank just before it closed. Stupid move, Oakes. Never lead your mark to your financial institution. Or your home. Thought I trained you better than that.”
Charlie tripped, but once more Alex caught him before he fell.
“Yeah, stupid but how... how many?”
“Three.”
“Chinese?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Alex kept walking.
Charlie kept leaning. “Yeah. Chinese. Chin Lee. Michael Tang, and get this, Charlie Hu. Kinda funny, huh?”
Who cared? Names never mattered with foreign spies. They changed them as often as underwear.
At last, they were at Alex’s car. He opened the passenger door and pushed his ex-agent onto the front seat. He buckled Charlie’s seatbelt before he walked around and got in the driver’s side. Then he started the engine and turned the heater to high. Just because.
Charlie sat shaking with his hands still bound behind his back, but safely buckled in. He turned warily to the man he’d betrayed. At last the real question bubbled up. “W-w-why?”
“Why not?”
Charlie breathed hard and heavy, his head bowed. “B-boss, I mean, Alex. I mean, really—why? Why help me?”
Alex pulled his cell phone out of his center console and pressed one button to reach one of his senior agents at home. “Harley. Contact the Virginia State police. Send them to the west side of Roaches Run. Three bodies. Two in the water. One on shore. I’ll turn my weapon into the FBI when I get there along with my statement. Tell them to contact Director Turner. The police are welcome to question me there.”
“Copy that. Did you get to Oakes in time?” Harley asked.
“Got him. I’ll explain later. Also notify the FBI to stand by. I’m bringing Oakes in. ETA in thirty if traffic’s quiet.”
“Damn it, Boss. I sure wish you’d let me or Mark assist when you do stuff like this. Are you okay?”
“Copy that. Contact the SECDEF while you’re at it. Advise him the joker is no longer in play.” Alex stowed his phone before Harley could chew his butt any more. Damned if he didn’t sound more and more like Murphy Finnegan all the time.
“You’re alone?” Charlie asked between ragged breaths.
Alex didn’t answer the obvious. With his arm over the back of the seat, he backed the SUV onto the street. Morning traffic was just beginning to thicken when he pulled up to the front door of the FBI building in downtown D.C. He parallel parked alongside the concrete barriers and came around to open the passenger door, unsnapped Charlie’s seatbelt and pulled the hapless man to his feet. Charlie’s knees buckled again, but Alex steadied him before he hit the curb.
“You’re turning me in,” Charlie stated flatly.
No shit.
Alex hurried him toward the front door where two FBI agents stood waiting inside. They opened the door and immediately, Charlie Oakes was face down on the floor, the zip-ties on his wrists replaced with cuffs, and rudely jerked back to his feet. Alex stepped aside and watched while the Bureau’s finest escorted his former agent away.
Charlie called over his shoulder, “Why’d you save my life after what I did to you?”
Alex had had enough. He walked straight up to Charlie and spat in his face, “Because I don’t leave my men behind.”
Charlie cowered at the intensity of the Marine Corps motto.
The FBI agents nodded in respect to Alex, turned Charlie around and headed down the hall.
Charlie called over his shoulder again, “There’s more of us, you know.”
“Say what?” Alex was once again in Charlie’s face. “What do you mean more of you? More traitors?”
“No. Not traitors. Just a few of us you didn’t choose.”
“Choose?”
“Yeah, sure. For every guy you hired, there’s a bunch you didn’t. Like me. I’m not Lennox or Tao. Sure as hell not Mortimer. I’m not one of the guys you handpicked. I had to come looking for you.”
“Why the hell would I choose you? I don’t want men like you working for me.”
Charlie wilted. “Damn it, Stewart. Every sniper coming home from the sandbox wants to work for you. You’re the best there is.”
“So?”
“So some of us, umm...” His eyes sank to the floor. “Some of us decided to pay you back.”
“That’s what this is about? A payback? Even though I gave you a damned good job? Do you have names?”
“I’ll tell you the ones I know.”
“I don’t owe you shit, Oakes. No deals.”
“I don’t want a deal. I just wanted you to know.”
“Why?” Alex snapped.
Charlie met his gaze with a whisper. “Because you saved my life. I’m not a complete ass. I owe you that much.”
The FBI agents escorted Oakes away. By the time Alex provided the FBI with a copy of the SECDEF surveillance tapes and the details of the takedown, the sun was up and the city wide-awake. He placed a single phone call. “Morning, sweetheart.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Taylor slept in peace for the first time in years. The last thing he remembered was Gracie’s goodnight kiss on his lips, her warm backside spooned against him. He’d buried his face in her hair, and there he’d slept. And slept.
The morning was long gone when he finally stirred. Her warmth and scent lingered in his sheets, but not her.
The pleasant smell of coffee and bacon filled his latest project. Until now, it had only known sawdust and paint, hamburgers, fries, and maybe a bucket of fried chicken once in a while with a beer on the side. This morning it smelled much better. The quiet sounds of someone at work in his kitchen replaced the hollowness of the old relic. Today it felt more like a home.
He snagged his bathrobe, but Gracie’s clothes still lay on the floor. Oh, the possibilities. A naked woman in his house was something to get up in the morning for. Hurrying, he tossed his dirty clothes down the laundry chute and headed downstairs. The woman he loved was in his kitchen and humming like she happily belonged there. He decided to wait for her, so
he took up his post on the stairs.
Sunlight poured through the high front room windows in the corner of his unfinished house. She’d been so delighted when he’d mentioned converting that room into a library with tall shelves and a sliding ladder. She loved books, too.
Consider it done, Gracie. This old house has enough rooms. We can make that room the best family library the world’s ever seen.
We. The word came easily to his mind. And others. Us. Ours. Love.
He heard the refrigerator door open and shut seconds before Gracie came around the corner with a tray of breakfast and coffee. Her face lit up when she saw him. She climbed the stairs and set the tray down on the step above him and made herself comfortable by his side. “Hi there.”
He fingered the shirt that covered her curves nearly to her knees. “Hot damn. The Red Sox look real good on you.”
“It’s comfortable. I like the way it smells. Like you.” Her hair was still tussled and unbrushed, her lips swollen from last night’s kisses, the way a woman in love should look every morning.
He pulled her onto his lap. “So where’d you get all this food?”
“I called the market down the street. You needed breakfast and I wanted to do something for you. They deliver.”
That’s just the way she was, taking care of him. Always. He let his fingers run through her hair. “So what’s on your list of things to do today?”
“I need to feed Buford. He’s alone right now. Matthew’s horses, too.”
“Good plan. I’d like to talk with Ryder. I want this crap out in the open and settled once and for all. No kid deserves to live with the guilt that’s got to be hanging over his head.”
“You’d forgive him?”
“He’s my cousin, isn’t he?” Damn. I have a cousin. “Besides, he’s twelve. What’s a kid know at that age? Sound like he needs an older cousin to teach him a thing or two. I figure what the hell. He can teach me archery. I’ll show him what will happen the next time he shoots me. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt him too bad. It’ll be fun.”
Gracie all but bowled Taylor over, she hugged him so hard. He tipped her back into his arms for a good morning kiss. Holding the woman of his dreams melted his heart all over again. “Gracie Fox?”
“Yes, Taylor Armstrong?”
Ah. He loved the sound of his name on her lips “Would you help me figure out what to do with this big old house? I have some ideas, but it needs a woman’s touch.”
She lowered her eyes. “I might not be around very long.”
“Nope. Not going to happen. You’ll be here. Just wait and see. I didn’t come this far to see you get shuffled off to jail.”
“But Taylor—”
He put a finger to her lips. “But nothing. You’re not going anywhere. Trust me.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I do trust you.”
“Besides, my boss probably got you a topnotch lawyer, didn’t he?”
“He did. He’s kind of scary, huh?”
“Alex? No, he’s hell on fire once he makes up his mind. I have it on good authority he’s working to get Grandfather off on a lighter sentence. That means Luke and Matthew, too.”
Gracie smiled, and his heart tumbled. “How is Luke by the way? Have you heard?”
“Alex checked for me. Luke has a slight concussion from the fall, but your friend, Harley, was right. He only winged him. Not too serious. Luke will be in a sling for awhile, but he’ll be fine.”
“Harley’s a good shot. Okay then. After we eat breakfast, we’ll...” Taylor forgot what he wanted to say. Two glimmering pools of tenderness looked back at him. Somehow, the week that started so badly had brought two very real families into his life, his mother’s and Alex’s TEAM. Who would’ve thought a bunch of ex-snipers could pull together to feel like family?
And Gracie? He tipped her chin up, drinking her in like he could ever get enough. She sat contentedly in his lap, waiting for whatever might happen next.
Breakfast can wait.
He lifted her into his arms and stepped over the breakfast tray on his way back to one of the only finished rooms in the house, his bedroom.
She giggled. “Wait. I’ll bring the food. We can eat breakfast in bed.”
He tossed her playfully onto the mattress. “Oh, honey. I intend to.”
“Hey, Boss. You got a minute?” Harley peered around Alex’s door.
Alex waved him in as he finished talking with the Secretary of Defense. He motioned for Harley to sit down. “Yes, sir. The HALO jump went as planned. Everything is go.”
Harley ushered three very emotional men into Alex’s office. Angel Green, Lavar Johnson and Dicky Benjamin had just been released from prison. Their first stop Alexandria.
Alex nodded to the men as he ended his call. “They weren’t looking at the right plant. No sir. I’m not taking up golf any time soon. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.”
He hung up and stood to shake his guest’s hands. “Gentlemen, come in. Please have a chair.”
But the men didn’t sit as Alex offered, and once Angel took hold of Alex’s hand, he wouldn’t let go. “Mr. Stewart, sir, we just wanted to tell you thanks for everything you done.” He nodded toward Harley. “You sent us a good man, sir. Ain’t nobody believed us before he showed up.”
“That’s the truth, sir. Nothing mattered until you...” Lavar choked and covered his face. Tears poured around his long fingers anyway. “It never mattered until you believed in us.”
Harley grabbed a box of tissues for himself as much as for his visitors. Angel still held onto Alex’s hand. “I wanna ask you something, sir.”
“What would that be, Mr. Green?” Alex asked, content to hold this man’s hand all day long if necessary. Sometimes a guy just needed someone in his corner. Wasn’t that all The TEAM was about?
“Would you come home with me and tell my mama I been a good man? I want you to tell her I never done those awful things to that little girl, cuz when she heard all that stuff on the news about us being released, she didn’t know what to believe anymore.” Tears dripped off his chin. “She’s been suffering for fifteen years. I want her to hear it straight from you that I never did none of that stuff they said I did.”
“I’d be honored,” Alex said quietly as he clapped his other hand to Angel’s shoulder.
“Me, too,” Lavar said quickly. “Could you guys both kinda come home with me and tell my wife and baby girl, too? Only my baby girl ain’t no little baby anymore, you know, cuz she kinda grew up while I was gone.” Great shuddering sobs shook him before he could continue. “I missed her whole life, Mr. Stewart, and I don’t wanna miss her no more. No, sir.”
All this time Dicky waited patiently for his turn. A short man with thick glasses, he sniffed politely into the tissue Harley’d given him, then tucked it into his pants pocket. Finally, Angel and Lavar stepped back.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Mr. Benjamin,” Alex said, grasping Dicky’s hand. “How does it feel to be a free man?”
Dicky looked him in the eye, his grip firm. “I’ve never stopped being a free man, Mr. Stewart. Being lied about didn’t change who I am.”
“You’re right.” Alex saw the intelligence behind those thick prison glasses. Here stood a man to be reckoned with.
“But there is one thing I need to know, sir,” Dicky continued. He hadn’t released Alex’s hand yet. “Can I work for you? I’ll sweep your floors and keep your bathrooms spotless. You own a good-sized building. I’ll do anything you need done. Give me the chance. I’ll be the best janitor you’ve ever had.” Dicky stared back without blinking. The man was serious.
“Harley tells me you have a master’s degree in fine arts, Mr. Benjamin. You’ve worked hard to earn it. Why settle for less?”
“Wouldn’t be less, Mr. Stewart. It would be more. I’d be your janitor.”
Damn. What’s a guy supposed to say to a pledge of loyalty like that?
Alex took a step into Dicky’s comfo
rt zone, offering a deal. “How about you spend the rest of your life living your dream and we call it even?”
“Because I owe you, sir, and I’m a man who pays his debts.”
“Mr. Benjamin. You’ve paid enough debt to last a lifetime. Would you settle for being my friend instead?”
And the deal was struck. Dicky gave Alex’s hand one hard shake and let go. “Yes, sir. I could do that.”
“And you gentlemen better call me Alex, understand? None of this Mr. Stewart bullshit. You’re the talk of the town, maybe the whole east coast. The good people of Alexandria are enraged at the injustice you’ve suffered. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re swamped with better job offers than janitorial work.”
Mother knocked on the door, opening it to announce, “Boss, the Attorney General is here to see you.”
Alex nodded to her, but turned back to Angel, Lavar, and Dicky. “I don’t know how long I’ll be tied up with my next appointment. You’re welcome to wait or I can visit your homes later this afternoon.”
“That be fine, Mr. Stewart,” Angel said. “You come by anytime, sir. You’re always welcome in Mama’s house.”
“Mine, too.” Lavar still wept openly, and Harley along with him. Damned if he wasn’t the biggest paradox of a covert agent. The guy had a heart as big as Texas stuffed into the body of a gunslinger.
“I’ll be there,” Alex promised.
With that, Harley showed the three men out and the day just got better. Attorney General Branson arrived with welcome news. He wouldn’t prosecute Gracie Fox. He’d personally reviewed her case. Matthew and Luke’s cases were next on the docket, and he tended toward leniency there as well. He intended to press charges against the officers involved, though, as well as Hemmings and Webster’s fathers, and the former assistant district attorney.
“What about White Hawk?”
“That’s a tough one. The man’s determined we hold him accountable. I’ve got no choice. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve discussed a way forward with the governor. White Hawk will get the trial he wants, but the governor fully intends to pardon him once he’s sentenced. Says he’s suffered enough. There’s one thing I need to know. Who hired you to protect Crosland Webster in the first place? His father?”
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