Lethal Echo

by Cara Carnes

  “He really likes ice cream,” Zoey commented into the silence.

  Ram laughed. “It was the only time he could be himself. I’d sneak out of my house with a chocolate ice cream cone and meet him in the playground. We’d play chess and take turns eating it.”

  “Wow, he almost sounds human,” Zoey said.

  “He is,” Bree said. “Stuck in a life he didn’t choose.”

  Ram wrapped his arms around her. “I never wanted to confront the past I left behind. This was a good beginning to letting it go, even if it was unexpected.”

  “So you’re okay?” she asked.

  “I am. Thanks to you.” He kissed her neck. “Tomorrow we have an outing.”

  “We do?”

  “Yes. The final arrangements were just confirmed. And no, I’m not giving you any hints. It’s a surprise.” And a damned good one. Even he had to admit tomorrow would be fun.

  25

  “I still can’t believe you set this up.” Nolan folded his arms in front of his chest and glowered at Dallas.

  Today’s “adventure” was apparently one she’d have with Ram, Doug, Pierce, Spade, Dallas, Nolan, Gage, and Zoey. The latter was on the phone dealing with something while her man stood at her side. Those two were adorable together. She loved the way Gage always shadowed her but never kept her from doing whatever she wanted.

  “Set what up?” Bree couldn’t stifle the excitement building within her. Whatever Ram had planned was big. She sensed it in Doug’s and Pierce’s laughter as they clapped him on the back and shook their heads.

  “You’re nuts, man. Even I wouldn’t have considered this,” Doug said.

  “Set what up?” She repeated the inquiry and approached Dallas.

  “This was all Ram’s idea.” Dallas held up his hands. “All I did was make a call.”

  Bree looked around the area they’d parked near. A small building on a ranch outside Nomad. Nothing particularly interesting so far. What was the big deal?

  A man exited the building. Tall, but lean. He exuded the same confidence as commandos. Hmm…

  He and Dallas swapped man hugs and handshakes and spoke a few minutes. Excitement built.

  “You’re practically jumping in place,” Ram whispered in her ear.

  “That’s because I have a fun radar and it’s going wild. What are we doing?” She smiled up at him. “If you give me a hint, I’ll kiss you.”

  “Mmmm, I’d want more than kiss.” He pecked her mouth quickly. “Today’s all about fun. Tonight will be just you and me.”

  Arousal flared within Bree. Nothing could top spending time alone with Ram. They’d had more alone time over the past few days now that everything was returning to some semblance of normal.

  Bob was back. The media had gone wild when he announced his resignation. Mary and Vi had been busy the past few days vetting potential replacements at the president’s request.

  Gavin had been put on a plane bound for London. Bree wasn’t in on the conference call Mary and Marshall had with both sides of Knightwind, but she’d heard it had been intense. Threats had been made by both factions of the organization, who were livid that they’d lost control of Facility Six.

  But Mary had come armed with enough evidence to bury both sides if it were made known. Their involvement in what had happened at the facility was horrible. Unimaginable.

  It was no surprise that they’d agreed to stay out of The Arsenal’s way and stop trying for HERA. One wrong move, and they’d be in trouble when Mary released the evidence she’d gathered against both sides of the organization.

  They’d also agreed to forget about Melanie, who was now safely within the underground—even though she didn’t know it. She’d been given a new identity, a place to stay, and help finding a job. Operatives would check in with her, but she’d never learn about the complicated network she was within. It was safest for everyone for her not to know.

  Her mind returned to what Ram had promised.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  “Ram, Bree,” Dallas said. He and the man approached. “This is my friend, Tag. Tag, this is Ram and Bree. She’s the one I told you about.”

  Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. She offered her hand for a shake. “Whatever you heard, only half is true.”

  “You build weapons that take out entire acres of land.” The man smirked. “Sounds like my brand of fun.”

  Welp, that was true enough. She forced a laugh despite her nervousness. “So…” Her gaze swept the open area. “What do you do here?”

  “That depends on the client. Most like to blow or shoot shit up.” He smiled when she gasped. “You’ve got the place to yourselves for the day. Ready to have some fun?”

  “Hell yes,” Doug said.

  “Did Dallas discuss what we wanted to do?” Nolan asked.

  Tag nodded. “I’m okay with whatever you’re wanting to do as long as I get to watch. We have a lot of people come through here playing soldier. It’ll be fun to get some real ones on the course.”

  Course? What course? Bree’s curiosity bubbled as everyone piled into two vehicles. Dallas drove the one she was in, which followed Tag’s truck. “In case I forget to say it later, this is the best day ever.”

  Dallas chuckled. “You don’t even know what we’re going to do yet.”

  “No, but everyone’s really excited and Nolan is nervous. That’s a recipe for wicked fun.” Bree squeezed Ram’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “It was a group effort,” he said.

  Everyone exited the vehicles moments later. Bree’s gaze swept over the open area and noted a few possible targets, along with other obstacles of some sort. She couldn’t make out what this was for. A loud rumble sounded from the side. She turned…

  “No way.” She breathed the words as everyone around her erupted into chuckles. “Z, did you know?”

  “No.” The woman gasped the word. “Tell me we’re driving that beast!”

  “You and Bree are in the driver’s seat,” Dallas said. “I think the rest of us have had our fill with it over the years, though newer models.”

  Holy shit. A tank. A real honest to goodness tank. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down, letting the excitement explode out of her as Zoey did the same. Wicked cool.

  Best. Surprise. Ever.

  Tag and a buddy of his walked Bree and Zoey through the different parts of the tank and some rules. Then the fun began.

  Bree squealed her delight and she climbed in. Zoey was the best friend ever because she let her go first. Ram and Doug snapped pictures as she waved before settling into the seat. It was smaller inside than expected.

  “Let the fun begin!” She shouted the order and laughed. Fortunately, Tag was a good sport and smiled.

  Best. Day. Ever.

  Ram sat beside Doug and Pierce and let his amusement roll out of him. Bree and Zoey had taken to driving the tank faster than anyone expected, alternating turns. They’d been on the course three hours and their excitement had yet to dissipate.

  “You know those two will likely want The Arsenal to buy a tank now,” Pierce said.

  Probably. Ram grinned. “We already have way slick toys. Did you have any problem setting up the next surprise?”

  “Nope. We’re on for two weeks from today,” Doug said. “Marshall got wind of what we planned and offered to fund it as long as we let a few of the newer operatives tag along. Some don’t have as much jump time. He wants to rectify that.”

  Ram grunted. He’d wanted to keep it small so Bree could enjoy her first skydive, but he was okay with a plane full. Her happiness blanketed him, giving such comfort and joy he could damn near explode from it. “She needed this.”

  “We all did,” Pierce said. “We’d best go corral them before they take another go at the course. Tag said everything was ready for the real fun.”

  Ram couldn’t help but grin as they made their way to where the tank was coming to a halt. Bree popped down from it a few moments later and jumped into his
arms.

  “This is so freaking cool!” She kissed his mouth. “Nothing can top this. Nothing.”

  “Oh, I can think of a few things,” he whispered in her ear. “The next surprise is ready.”

  “There’s more?” She pulled away. “I’m not sure I can handle anything else.”

  Amusement sounded around him as everyone circled. Ram’s gaze cut to the small trail as dust stirred. Tag and his buddies were bringing the Jeeps for the next phase of today, one Bree would either love or dread.

  “Nolan, this next part was your idea. Why don’t you explain?”

  The man crossed his arms and sighed. “Dallas and I were talking about Bertha and her little sisters. How they’d be an instrumental form of defense if the compound is ever attacked again. That got me to thinking we needed something like that in a mobile form.”

  “He mentioned it to me. I spoke with Rhea and we sort of raided your lab.” Zoey’s eyes widened. “Sorry, not sorry. Anyways, we found the baby Berthas. Not sure what you call them.”

  “I haven’t tested those yet.” Bree tightened beside him. “They aren’t ready for anyone to see.”

  “Do they work?” Pierce asked.

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Then they’re ready to test,” Dallas said with a grin. He held out a large duffel bag. “You’ll have to set them up, but we’d like to see how you go about that.”

  “How did you even find them?” Bree asked as she took the bag.

  “You had added them to HERA’s backdoor area. When Nolan mentioned how cool it would be to have a mobile version of Bertha, I remembered. Got with Rhea.” She shrugged. “We got lucky. Though, you’re wickedly organized in that vault.”

  Bree looked around at everyone. “Fine, but I’m warning you that these are only test models. There’s no telling what they’ll do. We can make notes and change whatever you want, though.”

  Sensing her discomfort, Ram touched her back. “Set them up, sweetheart. We understand.”

  Everyone got closer as she pulled out one of the small boxes. Although it appeared somewhat innocuous, Ram suspected it was very deadly. One side had small holes every few inches along the square, two-foot area.

  Bree climbed into the Jeep. Zoey followed. The two studied the mounting mechanism in Tag’s Jeep a moment before getting to work setting it up, using a magnetic strapping of some kind to lock it down.

  Seemingly satisfied, the two women high-fived one another and hopped down. Bree motioned toward the Jeep.

  “Who wants to give it a try?”

  “You aren’t doing it?” Nolan asked.

  “Nope. That’s commando territory. It’s all yours,” Bree replied.

  Ram chuckled as Dallas and Pierce hopping in first. Tag’s friend got into the driver’s seat and started up the Jeep.

  “How do we get it started?” Pierce asked.

  “Green button on the upper left side. The display will start up once it’s powered and ready to go,” Bree said. “There are different power levels. I’d start with the lowest.”

  Nolan laughed.

  Ram couldn’t help but feel proud of her as he wrapped an arm around her. She rested her head against his chest and watched as Dallas and Pierce started firing at targets positioned on the large course.

  Even on the lowest setting the laser blasted through the target with a power so strong it echoed within the area. Everyone cheered and clapped as they increased the power to the next level.

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered.

  “You’re pretty amazing, too.” She smiled up at him. “You’ve definitely earned an extra special treat tonight.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “No spoilers.” She kissed his cheek.

  Nolan and Spade switched off with Dallas and Pierce. They increased the power level immediately. Dallas laughed when multiple lasers shot out and blasted a massive area a quarter klick out.

  “They found the button for multiple lasers,” he commented.

  “Why didn’t you try it?” Bree asked.

  “Can’t have all the fun.” He winked. “Big brother has a lot of aggression to take out.” Arms crossed, he watched as the Jeep ripped through the course.

  “You still up for helping us look at places in Resino tomorrow?” Bree asked.

  “Yes. Mom made sure I remembered,” Dallas said. “Kamren’s got some chickens and rabbits set aside to give your niece and nephew once they find a place.”

  “Great. Lars said they were begging Kayla for a puppy. They don’t understand they’re service animals in training.”

  “Yeah, I heard Mom telling your brother she could take him to the shelter in Nomad. I figure he’ll have a full farm in a couple of months.” Dallas grinned. “Luke’s good with the boys and Mike. Kamren’s planning a sleepover for next weekend.”

  Bree smiled. “I’m so happy I could explode. My family’s moving here. I have the man I love at my side and everyone else I love here. Life couldn’t be better.”

  Ram agreed. They’d come a long way in the past few months. It’d been a brutal up-hill battle at times, but he’d do it all again.

  The next morning…

  “Horsies!” Hillary’s excited shout echoed through the open area near the barn. Lars clutched her little hand as her wide gaze locked onto a massive black horse in front of the barn.

  Bree couldn’t help but smile as her niece dragged Lars toward the area. Ram squeezed Bree’s waist. She kissed his cheek. “I’m thinking something’s about to happen. That’s not an Arsenal horse.”

  They both read the Burton name on the horse trailer as they approached Dom, Nolan, and Dallas. The three were chatting amongst themselves as they moved around the horse.

  It was the happiness and joy on Dom’s face that made Bree’s gut twist. She’d only seen that pure emotion one other time on Riley’s face when she’d been with Peanut.

  Dom glanced up and offered Lars a smile when they approached. The man’s gaze swept to Luke and Hillary. He squatted in front of them both. “Hi there. I’m Dom. I heard you like horses.”

  Hillary nodded. “All princesses need a horse.”

  “They do.” Dom stood and patted the horse. “This is Midnight.”

  “He’s so pretty,” Hillary whispered.

  Lars lifted up his daughter and patted the horse’s side. “You can touch him, sweetie. Just be gentle, okay?”

  She nodded as her little hand patted Midnight’s mane.

  Dom smiled and held out a carrot. “You want to feed him?”

  Dom guided Hillary through feeding the carrot to Midnight. Her excited squeal worried Bree, but the horse never flinched from the sudden, loud noise. Nolan and Dallas both crossed their arms and smiled at the lack of response.

  “You were right. He’s great with kids,” Nolan commented.

  “What the heck is going on?” Riley shouted as she charged toward them.

  Shock rose through Bree when the woman halted. She…sparkled. Glitter filled her blonde hair and reflected off her face and arms. Dom’s amusement echoed through the area as his gaze swept down Riley in a slow, confident glide.

  Damn.

  Bree shuffled from one foot to another and glanced up at Ram, who smirked. Talk about sexual tension. It rolled from both Dom and Riley when their gazes locked.

  “You.” Riley hissed the word. “How?”

  “Not sure what you’re talking about.” Dom shrugged. “Though, I’d suggest not playing games with someone if you don’t want them responding.”

  Dallas chuckled. “I warned you, Riles.”

  Riley glared at her brothers. Her gaze cut to Midnight. “What…What’s Midnight doing here?”

  “I didn’t realize you knew Midnight,” Nolan said. His eyes narrowed. “How?”

  “I spend a lot of time with the Burton’s horses. They’ve been so busy working out here that they needed some help.” She walked over and stroked Midnight. “Midnight and I go way back. I ride him whenever I get a chance.”
>
  Dallas choked back a laugh as Nolan shook his head. Dom’s gaze turned intense as he watched Riley stroke Midnight.

  “Is that right?” Dom asked, his voice low.

  “What’s he doing here?” Bree’s gaze shifted to Hillary, then Lars. “Of course. The ride. I can take someone on Peanut, but I’ll have to ride, too. She’s pretty particular about who rides her.”

  “I bet she is,” Dom commented.

  “You sparkle,” Hillary whispered. Lars set her down. The little girl wandered over to Riley and peered up. “You’re a princess like me.”

  Riley smiled and crouched down. “I heard you like horses. I do, too.”

  “Daddy says I can ride Midnight,” Hillary whispered. “You’re a princess.”

  “She is,” Dom said. Amusement glimmered in his eyes. “Are both our princesses ready to ride?”

  “Yes!” Hillary shouted.

  “Will someone please tell me what Midnight is doing here.” Riley’s gaze cut to Nolan and Dallas.

  “None of the new mounts we brought in for Warrior’s Path are ready for children,” Nolan said. “Dom was kind enough to offer Midnight since he’s good with kids.”

  “Why would Dom offer a Burton horse?” Riley’s hand trembled as she stroked the horse. “Did you call Burton and make sure it’s okay?”

  “Why would we?” Dallas asked. Amusement glinted on his face. “Midnight is Dom’s.”

  Riley paled. “What did you just say?”

  Dom prowled forward, caging Riley between him and Midnight. The woman shifted to face Dom. He swiped glitter off her forehead and smiled. “They were kind enough to take care of him for me. I’ve been going over there and tending him every day since I’ve returned. I was always wondering why he was so well tended and happy when I got there some nights. Apparently I have a princess to thank for that.”

  “He can’t be yours,” she whispered. “How?”