by J. L. Drake
“I can’t thank you enough.”
“Of course.” He paused. “It’s always good to have a soldier of your caliber in my debt.” He chuckled once more.
I felt uneasy with his choice of words, but this needed to end now. “Talk to you soon.”
I tucked his card away and headed for the shower.
By the time I was finished and was headed downstairs, the living room was in full-out party mode.
Mike and Keith were hugging their wives, and all the kids were playing together. Abby and June were gushing over Lexi’s surprise, that she was very much pregnant. I had no clue how far along she was, but she seemed pretty big. Laughter and love filled the room and immediately lifted my mood.
“About time, hey?” Mark handed me a beer and smiled.
I searched the crowd and spotted Sloane with Savi and Mia. She was smiling and telling a story about something. A tightness formed in my chest with the realization that I could have lost her last week without even knowing it. The urge to call Trigger and have him handle it was on my mind, but I’d let the FBI agent give it a go first.
Cole joined my side and called over Mike and Keith. We stood in a horseshoe shape and admired the people and the lives we had made for ourselves. Whoever said it was impossible for an elite team to find love and have children had never met Blackstone.
We defied the odds.
“Welcome home, boys.” Cole held his beer mug up and clinked his glass with Mike and then Keith. “I appreciate the two-year sacrifice it took to build Dusk. You did a hell of a job, but man, I’m glad you’re back!”
“It’s good to be home.” Mike grinned at Keith, who happily agreed.
The plan always was for the guys to return to Shadows once the new house was up and running effectively, with the new team trained. Cole told me he was beyond impressed with how Mike and Keith had shaped the boys at Dusk into a younger version of ourselves.
Truth be told, we needed the help. The cartel were getting stronger, and they outnumbered us by the thousands. North Rock and Eagle Rock felt the same way and stepped up to train whenever they could. Whether it was Chamness over video phone or Waters in person, we trained those men to be the best of the best, nothing less.
“Do they know yet?” Mark asked, and I knew he was referring to who was going to be taking over Dusk.
Cole grinned around the mouth of his beer. “Nah, let’s let them sweat it out a little longer.”
“Are we just going to stand around?” Daniel stood on the stone hearth of the fireplace while he tried to hide a wince. “Or are we going to have a little fun?”
“Oh, Sue isn’t going to like that.” Mark shook his head with a laugh.
“Tonight,” Daniel held up his beer and rolled his eyes at Scoot, who thought now would be the appropriate time to spread his legs and let his manhood out for some air in the middle of the room, “we leave our concern for North Rock at the door and we let loose. Tomorrow is another day, and who knows, it may be the day we get the green light to ship out and bring those boys home.” We all cheered at that as Daniel eased himself to the floor.
Live music started to play from the corner of the room, and the energy in the house picked up.
As the night went on and the party was in full swing, the music suddenly slowed, and a familiar tune could be heard. I glanced across the room and found Sloane’s sexy gaze already on me.
I nodded as if to tell her to come here.
She excused herself from Catalina and worked her way through the crowd, sending Doc Roberts and Abigail a shy smile.
I met her on the edge of the dance floor, and she stopped in front of me. I tilted her chin up with a finger and looked down at her for a moment, then slowly wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her into me.
“Look, John, if you’re upset with me, I completely understand. I just—”
“Hey,” I cupped her face and rubbed my thumbs gently over her cheeks, “I’m not mad at you. I’m just sad that you didn’t tell me.” I let my mouth run because it was the only way the walls wouldn’t shoot up. “I would have been there for you.”
“You were supposed to be healing.”
“Don’t.” I shook my head and let my hands fall. “Don’t you get it? I want to be that person for you. I would have stayed up all night, talked until you fell asleep and still stayed on the line in case you woke.” I paused to clear the emotions that apparently insisted on surfacing.
She sighed. “Everything I did that day and the next was wrong. When I got back to my room, I sat in the chair until it got light. My finger hovered over your number a billion times.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
Her brows pinched, and I saw the pain race across her frown. “I didn’t want to lose you.”
“Nope, I don’t accept that.”
“John.”
“Sloane,” I challenged.
“Because…” She paused. “Because I saw that look of doubt on your face when you thought I overstepped.”
She held up a finger when I started to explain how I’d been wrong on that. “Please, hear me for a moment.” I nodded for her to go on.
“That look killed me, and you turned off, and when I tried to explain, you blocked me out. And,” she blinked a few times, “I’m just not sure I could handle that again.”
She was right but wrong at the same time.
“Okay,” I nodded, “I was wrong for doing that then, and you were wrong for not calling me the other night. Call it a truce? Learn from our mistakes?” I went for my best sexy smile.
Her mouth curved into a matching sexy but modest grin. “I can agree to that.”
“Good,” I smirked, “because if that ever happens again, I will chain you to me so you can never leave my protection.”
Her eyes narrowed. “So, is that all it takes?”
We both twitched in the direction of the speakers before she stepped closer.
“It’s our song,” she whispered against my neck as she tucked herself in to mold to my body.
I loved that we had a song. “We’ll always have the barn.”
“And a scarred rooster.”
She chuckled and held me tighter.
“But really, how are ya holding up?”
“I’m drained, but better now.”
“Me too.” I kissed the top of her head and appreciated her truth. I nodded at Cole, who was dancing with Savannah. If we could stay like this forever, I’d die a happy man.
Chapter Twenty
Sloane
“Wait.” I blinked to clear the fog from my eyes and realized I was in the woods in my nightgown. “What the hell?”
I whirled around and tried to make sense of what was happening. Thick terrain blocked my view, but I spotted a path and rushed toward it. Wrapping my arms around my midsection, I made my way north…or was it west? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t been here before. My bare feet fought with the uneven ground, and nasty twigs tore at me from every direction as I walked.
A bird landed in front of me, and I suddenly knew to look at a tree where a camera box was mounted.
“How did I know…” I trailed off and studied the camouflaged box. “If that’s there, then…” I looked over my shoulder and saw Blackstone running toward me.
“John!” I screamed, but they raced right past me like I was invisible. “John?”
Nothing.
As soon as I heard the hooting, I stepped back off the trail to hide behind a tree. I watched in fear as a couple of cartel guys charged after them.
“One, two, three,” I counted, knowing two more had to pass. The last two were about thirty seconds behind. They stopped in front of me. One had a camera and was filming as the other held the rookie’s radio. Something black was between his fingers, and it caught my attention.
What was that?
I stepped out and held my breath before I let it go in one shaky blow. “Hey,” I whispered loudly. They didn’t even budge.
Okay, so I was inv
isible. I pushed my panic aside and studied the black thing. It was the only thing that was blurry. No matter how many times I looked at it, my eyes couldn’t focus in on it. Something told me it was important.
“Santo Grial!” the man in front of the camera said in Spanish.
“Nosotros somos dioses,” we both said together.
How did I know to say that?
Their voices faded out as a loud tapping noise took over my head, then a huge rush of adrenaline flooded my veins.
I covered my mouth to stop the scream before…
The wind blew hard against the tin roof and woke me from the nightmare that held me tight in its grip.
“Jesus,” I panted and felt around my chest where my heart was trying to escape. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Another gust of wind had me pulling back the curtain. I squinted through the darkness to see hail and snow coming down like a cloak over the mountains. The howl of the wind through the trees was so eerie I leapt back under the covers to snuggle into the safety of John’s warm body.
“Mm, mine,” he muttered as he wrapped his arm around me to pull me in.
“Yours,” I agreed as I lay there. My brain swirled with confusion, and my eyes stayed wide open until morning.
John’s phone went off, and I felt him jerk up and snatch it from the night table.
“Yeah?” he answered and shifted to sit on the side of the bed. “Copy that.”
I immediately felt the loss as soon as his weight was gone and the mattress lifted. I rolled over and watched him reach for his cargo pants. His body seemed charged with energy; it positively buzzed around his body. I knew it was something important.
“Everything okay?”
“We got the call.” He cleared his throat and shrugged on a t-shirt. “We ship out in one hour.”
My stomach dropped, and I tried to remember what Savannah taught me.
This is what they do. This is what they live for. They need us to be supportive when they leave. We can crumble once they’re gone, then take our next deep breath when they return.
“Okay.” I shifted to sit up on the headboard.
“I need to grab my gear and check my radio. Stupid piece of shit likes to crap out on me.” Sweat broke out along my chest.
I can handle this.
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what to say. Apparently, my brain was fixed on the only word it could come up with to get me through this.
Once he was dressed, he looked over at me, and I couldn’t miss that flicker of excitement that glowed in his eyes whenever he was about to go on a mission. They all looked the same way, like kids who were handed BB guns and were told there were no rules.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” My shaky voice betrayed me.
He lifted my left hand and kissed my ring finger before he shifted and slowly pressed his lips to mine.
“You gave me a reason,” he whispered, and I knew what he meant. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Please be careful.”
“Remember, Sloane,” he brushed my hair off my shoulder and let his fingers skim along my collarbone, “I want to come home just as much as you want me to.” He kissed me one more time before he headed for the door. Just before he left, he turned back. “Hey?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He disappeared from my view, and I was left alone, feeling like the room was spinning.
By the time I dragged my zombie body from the shower and wiggled myself into something decent, I knew I had to hurry. I made it up to the house just in time to watch the chopper take off from the landing pad. The glare of the sun off the snow brought more tears to my eyes as I pressed my fingers to my lips and held it up to him. Maybe, just maybe, he could see or at least feel me.
“Please, someone watch over them,” I whispered before the whirling blades dipped behind a mountain peak.
No matter how many times I tried to force the dream from last night from my head, I just couldn’t. It was so persistent that I could feel a pain building in my head as though someone was constantly trying to get my attention.
“Morning,” Abigail greeted from the living room. “You okay, dear?”
I smiled at her sympathetic tone and gave a nod even though I was far from okay. I wasn’t about to bring up my fears about the team because we all felt it. What was more important for me to do was to concentrate on finding the truth about what was going on and not to burden the others with my mental state.
I forced my mind back to where it could be useful. I had never been so consumed by a dream before, and I decided I had to find a way to let it out. I went into the kitchen and poured my coffee then tossed the phone pad down in front of me and started to make a list of everything I could remember.
Location - Mexico
Time - Second to last mission
Pathway
Knew the words before they were said
Black rectangular blur
Invisible
Camouflaged video box on tree
Bird
Gods
I leaned over the table on one arm and studied the words in every different way.
“Morning.” Dell rubbed his messy hair as he and Davie both went for the coffee pot.
“Mm,” I muttered and tapped the pen on the marble countertop. The sound took me back to the sound of the boots on the pathway. Tap, tap, tap. My mind spun again, and I slipped back to the memory that wasn’t mine.
I shoved the camera they used in the other guy’s face, and the words “we are Gods” came out of my mouth like I was one of the men. Again, the black blur was raised, and my eyes locked on to it.
“We are Gods,” I whispered, and the still of the room suddenly dawned on me.
“What did you say?” Dell’s face was twisted.
“Huh?” I barely heard him.
“What did you say?”
“I…” I sat straighter and tried to recall my words. “I’m not sure.”
Dell glanced at Davie, confused, and leaned on the counter and sipped his coffee.
I was so close to what it was I was discovering I could taste it.
“I need to go.” I downed my coffee, ripped the piece of paper free, and rushed toward the door.
“Was it something I said?” Davie laughed behind me. “What’s wrong with her?”
With Tripper by my side, I rushed back to the Tin House and pulled the box of files out on the conference table. One by one I lined up each guys’ interview from the first day I arrived here. Using my teeth, I freed the highlighter and spat the cap on the floor. Every time the guys said the cartel were one step ahead of them, I crossed-refenced with the YouTube videos that came out just after.
I used the projector and kept the videos on a loop playing on the wall above the whiteboard. I numbered each cartel and started my own bio of each. Three and six were the camera operators, and eight was just ruthless. I didn’t try to use names. They were trying to kill my family, so I stuck with numbers. Numbers kept me disconnected from my anger.
Three hours later, I knew I looked insane, with papers stuck to the walls because the whiteboards were too small, and each was filled to every corner. I could recite the videos by heart now, but there was one part I could never quite make out. Even the closed captioning failed to decipher the words. It was during the part of the mission where John got separated from the rest and ran into Brick. The cartel had popped up out of the bushes, and number six was speaking behind the camera to his leader. I could tell it was him from the tattoo of a weapon on his arm.
Suddenly, the leader stopped talking and leaned his head toward his shoulder as though he was listening to something, then he began to wave his arms around as he yelled at them.
What the hell happened then? What did he see or hear?
The heel of my shoe tapped as I swung my chair in a half moon, just needing to keep moving. My adrenaline was high
, and my need to discover something gnawed at my insides and made me feel about to burst.
Then it hit me, like a bright flash of light. I grabbed my phone and called Frank.
“Well, hello there,” he started without waiting for me to speak. “You and I certainly need to have a chat.”
“Yeah, for sure, but first—”
“Care to explain what the hell happened on your trip?”
Damn you, John.
“It wasn’t John. It was Cole.” He answered my unspoken mutter.
“Frank.”
He immediately stopped talking when he heard my tone. “What is it?”
“Remember when Pix from Eagle Eye was in trouble, and there was that video of him at that bar, but no one could pull the audio mess on the witness?”
“Yes.”
“They used something to retrieve it. Do you know what that was?”
“Um, yeah.” He tapped on his keyboard. “the Army is now using it in court. I think it was turned into an,” he paused, “yup, an app. It’s called Static Retriever.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you later.” Before he could argue, I hung up and tapped on the app icon on my phone and quickly downloaded the handy little tool.
“Please work,” I pleaded out loud.
Turning the volume up and placing my phone a few inches from the speaker, I pressed play. The words popped up over the screen, and sure as anything, the moment it got to the part I needed, I read those four little missing words.
What the hell does that mean?
I grabbed my coat, called Tripper, and raced back up to the house.
“Doc,” I closed the door behind me, “I need to talk to someone on the team. Is Daniel, Dell, or Davie around?”
His brows pinched together above his glasses, no doubt once again trying to read my mind.
“Davie is in the kitchen with Savi. I haven’t seen the others yet today.”
“Thank you.” I rushed by him and across the living room. Savannah and Olivia were watching TV, and the babies were playing near them on the floor.
“Hey, girl,” she called, and I waved but didn’t stop. I could hear his voice, and as I whirled around the doorway, he looked up from his laptop.