Jacob

by Kris Michaels

  The front door opened and closed. Jacob came into the living room and walked directly to the bar. After pouring what appeared to be a triple shot of Johnny Walker Blue, he sat down across from his brother.

  Jared lifted his own drink in a silent toast. “Get fired?”

  “Yeah. I believe this is the thirteenth or fourteenth time since he hired me. Where are the ladies?”

  Jared snorted. “Right now…upstairs. Thought they were going to kill each other.”

  Jacob’s head snapped up and his eyebrows rose. Jared nodded. “It’s true, no bullshit. Tori called out Jewel’s department’s competency in order to make a point. Of course, Jewel wasn’t thinking straight and was an emotional wreck. I wasn’t getting through to her. Victoria’s tactic was probably the only way to make her see it wasn’t her fault. They went toe-to-toe, and your woman didn’t flinch. Not once. Shit. I would’ve flinched.”

  Jacob closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “That’s only because Jewel beat the tar out of you growing up and mom wouldn’t let you lift a finger to defend yourself. Jade is the only one who scares me. But I agree with you. My Tori is an amazing woman.”

  Both men turned toward the door hearing footsteps coming down the stairs. Tori smiled brightly and walked directly to Jacob sitting down in his lap and kissing him soundly. Taking his glass, she sipped the scotch and leaned back into him.

  “She asleep?”

  Tori nodded. “She was sitting on the bed watching me try on clothes and the next thing I knew she was out. I tucked her into bed, and I borrowed some of your sister’s clothes.”

  “Which sister?”

  “I borrowed Jasmine’s. Jade’s taste is a little too…provocative?”

  Both men laughed at the statement.

  “Good, Jasmine won’t mind. Jade has issues sharing. Getting along…being civilized.”

  “Really? Is she that bad?”

  Jacob’s eyes widened. “Yep, she’s one of a kind.”

  Jacob took the glass sipping some whiskey before handing it back to Tori. “Well, I would say that’s a nice way to put it. Jade’s taste in clothes has caused a lot of trouble. We don’t like it, but she’s a grown woman and more than capable of staving off the wolves.”

  “Well, Jasmine has a lovely white silk skirt and blouse that I’m going to borrow. Jewel texted her to make sure it was alright, and Jasmine told us where to look for the matching shoes and purse.”

  Jared chuckled. “I’m assuming by your tone that’s important.”

  Tori stuck her tongue out at him and elbowed Jacob. “Men!”

  Jacob winced in mock pain. “Hey, I didn’t say anything!”

  “It doesn’t matter, you’re guilty by association.” Scrunching her nose at him, she took another sip of liquor.

  She ran her hand through his thick black hair. “Did you get fired again?”

  “Yep.” He took the glass back and finished the rest of the scotch in one large swallow.

  “What else happened?”

  “Got hired again. Received a brief on other pertinent international events. Worked out the travel and logistical support required for tomorrow’s ops. Stopped by the jewelry store and picked up your wedding ring.”

  Tori bounced around to face him and immediately patted down his pockets. Jared’s laughter when she found the ring box was echoed by Jacob. When her soon-to-be husband refused to let her look at it, Tori nearly vibrated off his lap.

  “That is not fair! I should at least get to see the engagement ring! Right?” Tori pouted like a two-year-old as her gaze bounced between the men.

  Jared shook his head knowing exactly when to stay out of an argument. “Don’t look at me. I’m so not getting in the middle of this.”

  Jacob kissed her on the nose and chided her. “No. The ring is one of those all-in-one thingys, engagement slash wedding-band-combo-unit-thingy.”

  Jared laughed again. Damn it was good to see Jacob happy. “Smooth little brother. I can honestly say I’ve never heard of a wedding ring described that way. Ball and chain or horse collar yes…all-in-one thingy? So smooth.” Jared’s mocking laughter ignited another round of Tori trying to get to the box.

  Jacob was resolute and grabbed both hands trapping them with one of his. As Tori pouted, he lifted his glass towards his brother.

  Jared rose and refilled Jacob’s glass as he refilled his own. The doorbell sounded and both men tensed immediately.

  Tori sat up and looked towards the door. “I take it you don’t receive many visitors?”

  Jacob rose and slid Tori to a stand before he unhooked the leather tab of his shoulder holster. “Not unannounced.”

  Jared pulled a large caliber automatic out of the drawer next to the chair where he had been sitting.

  Jacob motioned for Tori to go into the kitchen. “Top cabinet over the refrigerator, Sig Saur .9mm.” Tori nodded and moved silently into the next room and retrieved the weapon. Coming back to the kitchen door she nodded at Jacob.

  He held his gun steady at eye level and covered the front door as Jared moved to open it. The doorbell rang a second time as Jared opened it with a monstrous pull. Three guns centered on the man and woman who stood at the door. Both Jacob and Jared lowered and holstered their weapons immediately. Tori followed the men’s lead.

  “Gabriel. What in the hell?” Jared’s disapproving tone was more from the thought they might have shot him rather than him being at the door.

  “Yeah, Gabriel. What in the hell?” Jacob echoed his words.

  “Good thing you didn’t shoot. My security detail would’ve had to return fire and it really wouldn’t have ended well for anyone. Not to mention I’d have to fire you.”

  A beautiful brunette standing next to him gave a laugh and added. “Again.”

  She walked in completely ignoring Jared and Jacob and headed straight for Victoria. “Hi! I’m Anna, Gabriel’s wife. I understand you’re marrying one of these lugs tomorrow?”

  Tori slid the safety on the automatic and set it on the table beside her. Taking the woman’s hand, she smiled and nodded her head. “Victoria, Tori. Yeah. I rode out, lassoed, and hogtied Jacob, but don’t tell him. He thinks all this is his idea.”

  Anna laughed and turned toward Jacob and Gabriel. “Oh, you are in trouble. I like her and she is country through and through.” Anna smiled and cocked her head as she looked at Tori.

  “I would say Wyoming or one of the Dakotas. Ranch girl, right?”

  Tori lifted an eyebrow. “South Dakota and, yes, I grew up on a ranch.”

  Gabriel shut the door behind him and put his hands in his pockets. “Really Jacob? You do realize these country girls are hard to tame, don’t you?”

  Jacob shook his head. “No, not really. You got to gentle them. Remember, I’m a country boy too, not a city slicker like you.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Good luck my friend. I know it’s late, but we stopped by to take you and your bride-to-be out to dinner. Anna is flying out tomorrow but we, and by ‘we’ I mean Anna, wanted to meet your bride.”

  Tori looked at her jeans and shirt. “How about I make dinner instead, or call for takeout? I’m afraid I haven’t the clothes to go out. The stores were closed by the time we landed and the clothes I had at the ranch aren’t appropriate for D.C.”

  Anna immediately slid out of her expensive designer coat and dropped it unceremoniously on the couch. “Only if I can help. Gabriel would you please bring me a drink?” Grabbing Tori by the hand, the women disappeared into the massive kitchen.

  Jared stared blankly at their boss. His mind just didn’t seem to be processing what he was seeing.

  Jacob cleared his throat. “Ahh…wife? I had no idea you were married.”

  “That makes two of us,” Jared added glad that someone was able to put the question out there.

  Gabriel shrugged his shoulders and walked to the bar. “She’s put up with me for a long time. If it weren’t for her and my kids, this job would’ve consumed me.”
<
br />   Jared shook his head and pushed his hands through his mop of dark brown hair. “Excuse me? You have children?”

  Gabriel poured a large glass of red wine from the decanter and turned back towards the room. “I wasn’t hatched, asshole. I’m perfectly capable of attracting a woman and having a family.”

  “No, seriously…you’re telling me you have kids?” Somehow the concept escaped logical comprehension.

  “As a matter of fact, I have a beautiful and incredibly talented daughter who just turned twenty-one and twin sons who are driving me bat-shit crazy. They’re nineteen and if they don’t straighten up, they might not see twenty. I just may end them and put myself out of my misery. My youngest daughter is seventeen. That one will be the death of me. The girl has absolutely no fear.”

  Gabriel dropped a couple ice cubes from the bucket into the wine and swirled it, chilling the room temperature merlot. “God only knows why she likes her red wine chilled, but for the last twenty-odd years I have had a refrigerator full of the horrid stuff.”

  “Twenty years?” Jacob’s question forced a chuckle from Gabriel.

  “Yeah, Anna put me through one hell of a chase. She was protecting me from a threat that no longer existed and lived off the grid while she was pregnant with our oldest daughter. Interesting story. Get me drunk sometime and I’ll tell you about it.”

  He returned to the living area and sat down across from Jared and Jacob. Gabriel leaned his forearms on his knees and appeared to consider his words carefully before he spoke. “This job is just that. A job. Jason is missing. Joseph is in so deep we question his existence at times. Jacob, you lead Alpha team on extremely dangerous missions and you, Jared, have not taken more than a day or two off in over four years. You both wear far too many hats. Your sisters are just as committed and driven.”

  The men waited for their boss to make his point. “After this mission, Jacob, you are standing down as Alpha team leader. Immediately. Pick your replacement. Your expertise in mission planning and execution will be invaluable as my Chief Operating Officer for International Affairs. You will direct the black ops but no fieldwork. When Jason gets back, both of you,” he indicated Jared, “and he will take a directed break. Jason will be placed on mandatory leave first. No work, period. When he comes back, you, Jared, will be on vacation. No excuses and no exceptions. I’ll deal with Jewel’s insane schedule. Jasmine and Jade work for you, Jared. Make them stand down. And Joseph? When he is ready to stop, I doubt we’ll hear from him. He’ll probably just walk away.”

  Gabriel swirled the wine again looking at the shell-shocked expressions on his men’s faces. “Look, believe it or not, this is not punishment. I have my wife and children, but each of you is also like family to me. I take care of my family when they refuse to take care of themselves. There will be four King brothers in harm’s way tomorrow and it’s because I’ve allowed you to become so damn important to this organization that I can’t find a way out of it. This situation will never happen again. I couldn’t live with the consequences if any of you boys were killed because of my negligence. It would destroy me.”

  Gabriel stood and walked into the kitchen. The silence in the room stretched on as Jacob and Jared listened to the lively conversation in the kitchen. Jacob leaned forward and threw a quizzical look at Jared. “Cold red wine, huh?”

  Jared chuckled. Of all the information just dumped on them, his brother focused on that. “Strange indeed.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tori’s eyes kept dropping to the two-carat square diamond outlined with sapphire baguettes. A silver band flowed around the stones in a contemporary bevel that complemented and enhanced the setting. She had surprised Jacob by giving him a thick silver wedding band that had belonged to her grandfather. When they were alone in his office later that morning she took his hand in hers and touched the ring lovingly. “I know you can’t wear a band when you’re on missions, but when you’re home would you wear it?” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. “Baby, I won’t take it off once I come home. Gabriel grounded me permanently after this mission. I’m riding a desk from now on.” He watched a myriad of emotions cross her face before she frowned.

  “Can he do that? Can he stop you?” Her aggravation at his boss’s edict was something she couldn’t hide.

  “I think I was going to stop anyway. I realized that the minute Gabriel grounded me. In reality, I was relieved that I didn’t have to be the one to make the decision. I don’t want to be the one going anymore. I’ll still run the international operations and missions. The training and the teams will still be my responsibility, but men who want to be overseas will go. You and I’ll work as a team to ensure they have the best support possible.”

  Tori scrunched her nose at him and gazed at his handsome face through her lashes. “So no regrets?”

  “No. None. Once we get everyone home there will be absolutely no regrets on the work front.” He pulled her into him and rotated his hips suggestively. “As far as our honeymoon, I regret I can’t take you away for a month on a tropical island. I’ll make it up to you, gorgeous. I’ll take you anywhere in the world you want to go and spend each minute of every day making love to you.”

  “Deal, cowboy. But would you be upset if we didn’t go anywhere? Couldn’t we just curl up at the ranch or at the Georgetown house and pretend the world doesn’t exist.” Her eyes focused on his lips as she whispered. “Please.”

  Jacob’s animalistic growl was her response. Lowering his lips to hers, he brushed them softly before he assaulted her bottom lip with his tongue and teeth.

  The door to Jacob’s office opened and Jared walked in. “Sorry to interrupt, but Tori, we have everything online for you.”

  He nodded towards the door to the left of Jacob’s desk. “We retrofitted the conference room per your requirements. The room is a secure facility. Jewel just finished the networking a couple days ago. All the lines are shielded, encrypted with rotating, keyed, tactical, online devices. It is covered by Jewel’s security net. You’re online and your access has been vetted at level nine. That’s higher than Jason and I, the same level as Jacob and Joseph. The only one with higher clearance is Gabriel. The boss said if you needed more he would grant it on a case-by-case basis.”

  The door looked normal. No visible security system drew attention it. Walking towards the door she finally saw a small button to the side of the entrance. At the push of a button, a panel could be accessed. The digital keypad on top required an insertion of a key card and fingerprint verification. Tori looked at Jared expectantly.

  “The keypad number needs to be set,” Jared said. “Any six to ten digit combination that you want. Push pound twice after you enter it to lock it in. After the number, insert your company ID and reenter the number. If you are under duress enter any four digit number. Access will be granted, all systems will appear to work but the silent alarm will be tripped and the system will misdirect all inquiries resulting in fraudulent information.”

  Tori lifted an eyebrow. “After the reentry of the code, I verify my fingerprint?”

  Jared nodded. “Each terminal inside requires an independent log on to access the secure - information processing systems. It’s ready.”

  “Okay.” Tori walked over to Jacob. Putting her arms around his neck, she stood on her toes and kissed him. “I won’t be out until I find your men. I love you.”

  Jacob’s hand lifted to her face, the love he had for her held in his eyes. “I love you, Mrs. King. They’re your men, too. Go find them, baby.”

  Tori located the panel and went through the entry process. She waited until the door shut then walked to the internal panel and engaged the locks and alarm system. She punched the access code into the electronic shield, activated the secure protocols and linked her system to the top secret darknet that established her feed to all existing “friendly” black ops information systems. She entered her new user ID and set up a secure - link to the Department of Defense satellite array. T
he satellite focused on the last known location of Jason’s team.

  Drawing on all her skills and experience, she continued through the morning and early afternoon searching for any indication of the team’s location. She piggybacked information from the drones to infrared satellites cross referencing last known campsites and intelligence data with other secure - information and then linked to the Department of Defense satellites and filtered the information through Guardian’s database of known hostiles and secondary encampments.

  The primaries the company had been hired to extract were being held in Kabul, but there was no indication of Guardian’s team at that location. Her gut instinct told her the primary and his family were going to be made into an example. They would be killed by ISIS to enhance and maintain the tenuous control they exerted over the country’s ravaged population.

  She found Jason’s team in the middle of the foothills to the south and east of where the transport plane had crashed. The satellite heat signatures corresponded with the drone intelligence and locked down the location. Bravo team was initially comprised of six men. Four remained. Jacob had told her of one known dead. Who was the other? Dear God, please don’t let it be Jason. The four’s physical location at a known ISIS training camp spiraled a chill of quickly suppressed horror through her. If Bravo team were captives, ISIS would torture them. Time was of the essence. She moved to the door and unlocked it. Jacob and Jared stood in the center of the office looking at a map on the table. Both turned to her as she opened the door.

  “Come in, please.” She waited until they entered her office and activated the secure - protocols. She retrieved the information and laid it in front of them, detailing the process she used and the redundant verification provided by multiple systems.

  Jacob looked at her. “How sure are you of this information?”

  She returned his gaze. “I’m sure enough to send you.”

  Jacob walked around the desk and tried to pull her into his arms. She moved out of his reach. She needed a moment. If he touched her, she’d break down in tears...and tears weren’t in his contract. Oh, dear God. She straightened, held her shoulders back and shook her finger at him. “If you don’t come back, I’ll come over there and personally kick your ass.”