The Only Reason: A Novel (Trident Trilogy: Book Two)

by Donna Schwartze

  “Naw, man. I haven’t seen her. She doesn’t really hang out in here. Really an operator-only area.” I’m trying to keep my tone somewhat civil.

  “Ah, yeah. Well someone saw her come in here a few minutes ago.” He’s still smiling. I’m wondering how many people have fallen for his bullshit charm and why Millie was one of them.

  “You’re welcome to look around,” I say, mocking him as I gesture around the small room. “Maybe she’s hiding in Hawk’s locker.”

  He glances over at Hawk, who is lounging back in his chair. Hawk spreads his legs a little wider as he hugs his rifle lovingly to his chest. “Knock yourself out, man,” Hawk says, nodding toward the small opening he’s left to walk into his locker. Alex ignores his challenge. I guess he’s a little smarter than he looks.

  Bryce comes around the corner pushing the laundry cart—full of towels and T-shirts that were just washed yesterday. And I’m guessing Raine is underneath there somewhere.

  Alex eyes Bryce suspiciously. “A couple hours until wheels up and you’re doing laundry? Kind of late for that, don’t you think?”

  “You know what they say about idle hands,” Bryce says as he tries to walk around Alex. Alex stops the cart with his foot and looks directly at me.

  I smile. “You know, Bryce, laundry is a rookie job. Alex is more of a rookie here than you are. Maybe he’ll do the laundry for you today.”

  “I don’t think we’re in need of anyone doing laundry right now,” Alex says, looking down at the basket.

  “Friend, that depends entirely on how you want us to smell for the next ten hours on the plane.” Butch puts his arm around Alex and looks at him with his best I-dare-you-to-challenge-me smile.

  JJ takes his shirt off as he walks over to stand on the other side of Alex. He tosses the shirt in the laundry basket. “My shirt needs to be washed while you’re at it, Alex.”

  Alex’s smile slowly fades away as he looks up at JJ flexing his massive pecs. “Naw, bruh. I’m going to pass. You’ll let Raine know I’m looking for her if you see her?”

  “Sure,” JJ says. “Bruh.”

  Alex turns around slowly and lets himself out. As the door clicks shut, I reach into the basket and lift Raine out. “Bryce, you’re never in charge of strategy. Worst plan ever,” I say, shaking my head. “Go put this laundry in again in case he’s watching.”

  Hawk pulls Raine behind the door as Bryce wheels the laundry cart out. “I’ll take her out in my duffel bag,” Hawk says as he pulls her into his locker.

  “What? I’m not going to fit in your duffel.” Raine tries and fails to walk around Hawk.

  “You’re barely over five feet. I’ve fit grown men in here,” Hawk says as he picks her up and starts stuffing her body into the bag.

  “In fairness, the men were dead, though,” Butch says as he watches Raine protest fruitlessly. “Dead bodies are usually more malleable, you know?”

  Just before Hawk pulls the duffel string closed over her face, I say, “Wait until our plane takes off, and then call Chase. I’ll text you his number.”

  From somewhere inside the bag, she says, “Don’t text me. They might be monitoring my phone. I hope I’m being paranoid, but we can’t take any chances. You think there’s any way Culver is in on whatever this might be?”

  “Not a chance in hell. He has Chase’s number. Get him involved. And let me know what you find out in your briefing.”

  Hawk easily slings her over his shoulder and starts out the door.

  I grab Butch by the shoulder and push him after them. “Go with him. After you dump her somewhere, gently extract Millie from wherever she is and bring her in here. Make sure Alex doesn’t see.”

  “Roger that,” Butch says as the door closes behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Millie

  Virginia Beach, Virginia

  2020

  I’ve only had a second alone with Raine since the meeting. I’m sensing she wants to discuss something privately with me, and we still haven’t talked about her going to Iraq with Chase. I need to get her by herself, but Alex won’t leave us alone. She left her office about a half hour ago. Alex followed her, but he’s back now without her. I’ve texted her a couple times, but no response.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say to Alex.

  Alex stands up immediately. “Where are you going?” he says quickly, and then immediately tries to act casually uninterested. Something’s off with him. I can’t quite place it.

  “The bathroom,” I say as I brush by him. “Would you like to come with me?”

  “Yes. I would actually like to go everywhere with you.” His megawatt smile accentuates the sugary-smooth tone of his voice.

  I roll my eyes as I start to walk out the door. “The charm doesn’t work on me anymore, Alex.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second.” I hear him laughing as I close the door.

  I take the long way to the bathroom, so I can look in the situation room for Raine. It’s empty. I turn around and see the top of Alex’s head moving around the corner just a tad too late. Since he seems to be watching me, I head to the bathroom. I’m sitting in the stall, trying to figure out what’s happening when I see feet wearing male boots walking in. Alex is apparently done hiding from me. I open the door, ready to confront him, and jump back when I see Hawk and Butch standing there.

  “What are you guys doing in here?” I look quickly from them to the empty duffel bag Hawk is now holding up. He grins from ear to ear, looking like a ten-year-old holding up a fish he just caught.

  “Okay,” I say as I back up into the stall slowly. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but y’all need to get out of my way, so I can leave.”

  “Sorry, Mills. No can do,” Butch says as he quickly covers the ground between us and picks me up like a baby in one fluid motion. Hawk holds the bag as Butch starts to feed my feet through the opening.

  I jerk my feet away from the bag. “What the fuck? Butch! Put me down!”

  Butch ignores me and looks up at Hawk. “I hate it when they struggle.”

  “Yeah. It takes so much more time,” Hawk says as he grabs both my feet with one of his massive hands. He pulls down hard on my legs as he shoves my feet into the bag.

  “Ow!” I say, backhanding him hard on the cheek. He doesn’t react.

  “Mason said to extract her ‘gently,’” Butch says as he lifts my upper body higher, so Hawk can keep force-funneling my legs into the bag.

  “How does gently work again?” Hawk looks thoughtfully at Butch as he pulls the bag over my waist.

  “Man, I’ve never really been sure,” Butch says. “Maybe they should teach a BUD/S course on that.”

  In a matter of seconds, I’m standing between them with the duffel bag up to my chest. I desperately grab the top of the bag before they can pull it all the way over my head.

  “Mills. Do you want to get the rest of the way in the bag by yourself or do you need my help?” Hawk says, smiling mischievously at me as he gently taps his fingers on my hands.

  “Will you at least tell me where you’re taking me?” I say as I try to discreetly push the bag down a little bit. Butch pulls it back up from behind me.

  “I guess we could tell her,” Hawk says, looking over me to Butch.

  “Man, I don’t feel much like talking right now to be honest,” Butch says, pulling the bag a little higher.

  “Look at that, Mills. Even Butch doesn’t have anything to say. Guess it’s time for you to be quiet, too.” Hawk flips my clenched fingers off the bag and holds my hands gently, giving me one last chance to comply on my own.

  “I hate you both so much right now,” I say with all the drama I can muster as I put my arms in the bag and start to sink down.

  “That’s rude,” Hawk says as he pulls the duffel string closed over my head.

&
nbsp; “And hurtful,” Butch adds.

  “And hurtful,” Hawk repeats, emphasizing each word with light taps to my now fully covered head. Hawk picks me up and slings me over his shoulder. I try unsuccessfully to conform naturally to his body.

  “You weigh a lot more than Raine,” he says.

  “Umm. First of all, fuck you,” I say from within the bag. “And second, have you been walking around the building stuffing women into bags all day?”

  “Mind your own business, Millie,” Butch says.

  “Butch,” Hawk says as he starts walking, “Millie said she hated me. That hurts my feelings.”

  “I know, big guy,” Butch says, flicking my shoulder through the bag. “But she’s just projecting her anger at Mason on to you. She didn’t mean it.”

  “I kept her from getting shot a few months ago. You think at least I could get some gratitude,” Hawk says, grabbing my face through the bag and shaking it playfully.

  “Stop it!” I say, laughing as I unsuccessfully try to hit Hawk.

  “People in bags don’t get to talk, Millie,” Hawk says.

  “Again, they’re usually dead though,” Butch says.

  “True. True. A lot easier that way, to be honest,” Hawk says as he stops walking.

  I can’t see anything through the bag, but I hear what I think is a code being punched into a door. We take a few steps forward, and a door slams behind us.

  “Good God, please tell me Millie is not in that bag.” I hear Mason’s voice as Hawk places me on the floor and unties the drawstring to let me out. I stand up and see I’m in the operators’ ready room. Mason’s entire team is there doing last checks on their gear before we go wheels up. They’re all looking at us and laughing except Mason, who’s shaking his head in disbelief. He looks at Hawk. “Man, what part of gently don’t you understand?”

  “As it turns out, pretty much all of it,” Hawk says as he lifts me out of the bag.

  “I think you should probably leave before Millie beats the crap out of you,” Mason says, looking from me to Hawk.

  “Nope. Not until she apologizes.” Hawk folds his arms as he looks at me, his eyes twinkling.

  “You shoved me into a duffel bag and you want me to apologize?” I say, shaking my head at him.

  “You said you hated me. That’s way worse.” Hawk’s scowl is starting to break as he hears the laughing around him.

  “Would it make you feel better if I told you I hate all of them, too?” I sweep my hands around the room.

  “Somewhat better. At least I wouldn’t feel like I’m being singled out.” Hawk finally starts laughing. He throws his head back in disgust—mad that he couldn’t keep a straight face a little longer. He steps forward and hugs me. “Hey, Mills. I’m glad you’re back. We’ve missed you.”

  Pretty soon the entire team—except JJ—is around me in a big, suffocating group hug. That lasts a few seconds when I hear Mason from across the room. “All right. All right. That’s plenty.”

  After I’m released from the scrum, I walk over to Mason’s locker. “What the hell?”

  “Sorry about that. I asked them to bring you to me. I had no idea they were going to do that.”

  “You asked them to bring me to you? What, are you like the king now?”

  “Millie. Do you want to fight right now?”

  “No,” I say, sighing. “I really don’t.”

  “Look. Raine said Alex might be watching you guys. I don’t know if she’s just being paranoid or not, but I wanted to make sure he didn’t see you come in here.”

  “He’s not watching me—in the way she means it, anyway.”

  “So in what way is he watching you?” Mason’s eyes lock into mine as I shift uncomfortably. “Tell me what I need to know here, Mills.”

  “What you need to know professionally or personally?”

  “Sounds like we’re going to need to cover both.”

  I try to lean casually against his locker, but I know my folded arms give away my extreme discomfort with this subject. “We met at the agency. We dated. He got transferred to Moscow. He asked me to come along. I said no.”

  He nods his head—his lips pursed—like he’s trying to make sure what he says next comes out right. “And he asked you to marry him?”

  “Does Raine tell you everything?” I start rubbing my temples to try to stop the headache that’s forming.

  “Well you clearly don’t. Why have you never told me about him?”

  I shrug. “I haven’t talked to him in like four years. There’s not much to tell. Have you told me about all your exes?”

  “I’ve told you about all my exes who are going to be on this mission with us.”

  “Cute,” I say. “And I had no idea he was going to be here today.”

  “Raine said he tried to pit the agency against the teams. What’s that about?”

  “I don’t know. I think she’s exaggerating that a little bit. He’s just new to management. He’s been a lone wolf in the field so long. I think he’s just trying to shore up his team.”

  “Interesting technique,” he says, rolling his eyes.

  “He’s not like you guys. He’s used to being on his own. You know the whole ‘working in the shadows’ thing. He’s good at his job.”

  “So you trust him?”

  “I mean sure. As much as I trust anyone at the agency.”

  “That’s not a ringing endorsement.”

  “Look, I’m sorry I asked for your team to be pulled.”

  He smiles very slightly like he does when he knows I’m not telling him the truth. “Don’t apologize for something you would do again in a second.”

  He’s not wrong, and he knows it. We stand there for a minute, staring at each other silently.

  “Are we good?” I say. “I have a few things I need to do before we leave.”

  “We’re good. I told you before I’ll always have your back whether or not we’re together.”

  My heart drops all the way to my toes. “What does that mean? Are we not together anymore?”

  “I don’t know, Millie. You really pissed me off by trying to call my team off the mission. And I know you’re hiding stuff from me again. Let’s just get this over with, and then we can talk about it,” he says, looking away from me. “But for purposes of this mission, we’re definitely not together.”

  I shake my head to try to register what he’s saying. “Wow. Okay.” I take a step back. He’s still not looking at me. “Am I allowed to leave on my own? Or do you want to have your guys stuff me in a bag again?”

  He motions his arm toward the door. “Knock yourself out.”

  I swing the door open with so much force, I’m actually surprised when it doesn’t come off its hinges. I turn around, hoping he’s looking at me. He’s not.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Mason

  In-Flight

  Virginia Beach to Islamabad

  2020

  I’m already on the plane when Millie walks in. She’s with Alex. He says something that makes her smile. She pushes him playfully on the shoulder. He laughs. They head over to the bench on the far side of the plane—away from us. I’m not exactly sure how I’m feeling, but none of it’s good. I watch them buckle in. It takes me back to carrying Millie onto the plane after she fainted coming back from our last mission together. She was in shock from having just survived her first firefight. I remember strapping her limp body in and holding her while the plane took off.

  “You going to be able to stay objective about this mission?” JJ’s voice snaps me out of my trance.

  I turn away from Millie and walk back over to our side of the plane. “It’s not going to be a problem.”

  “You sure about that?” JJ says as he sits down beside me. “I don’t know what it is about her, but you lose focus when she’s a
round.”

  I turn and scowl at him. “I’m fine.”

  “Seriously, though. What is it about her? I’ve seen you cycle through your share of women. None of them have made you like this. She’s hot, no denying that, but there are a lot of hot women out there who are a lot less high maintenance.”

  “She’s not high maintenance.”

  “Bruhhhhh,” he says. “C’mon now.”

  I laugh. “Yeah. Okay. She’s a little high maintenance. But she’s also smart and funny. Sassy. And God, she’s so sweet.”

  “Sweet?” he says, laughing. “Since when do you like sweet?”

  “Since I met her.”

  “So all it takes is some girl being nice to you for you to throw away your career. Man, your childhood must have been more fucked up than I know.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “So what’s it like? You love your new job? You like giving up your team to teach a bunch of dumb ass recruits?”

  “No, man. I don’t,” I say, sighing. “I miss this every day.”

  “I’m glad you’re back. This is your team. This is where you belong.” He pauses and then adds, “When Stevie is healed up, he can take another team. You need to stay here. You want that, right?”

  “Do I want to lead this team again? Yeah. But it’s more complicated than that now.”

  “Because of her?” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t get it. Look at her over there. She’s flirting with her old boyfriend—a guy that she almost married. That’s okay with you?”

  “She didn’t almost marry him.”

  “You know that? She told you that?”

  “She actually didn’t tell me anything. This is the first I’m hearing about him.”

  “Oh, so she’s keeping stuff from you again? Like all that shit about her family. The last time we worked with her, she kind of forgot to mention the man we were going after was her uncle. Uncle Sayid—one of the most-wanted terrorists in the world. Might have been nice if we knew that.”

  “Man, what’s your problem?” I say, turning to look at him. “You’ve never liked her—personally or professionally.”