44. Chapter 43
Chapter 43
AJ
I t only took me a minute to toss my stuff into my duffle. Not worried about appearances, I tossed my vest on over my t-shirt and joined Jack and Jay.
The living room was a buzz of activity as we prepared to transport Blake. So much can go wrong . My heart drummed in my ears as I unpacked the vest Blake would use.
Pain flashed in his eyes before he turned back to his rifle.
“We’ll bring her home,” I said to the back of his head.
His slight nod was the only indication he’d heard me. Jay looked at me and nodded, his normal smart-ass attitude gone now that we were in mission mode.
Blake gasped when she walked into the room and saw us preparing.
I jumped up and made sure she was okay.
“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting,” she waved her hand towards the room, “all this.”
“I should have warned you.” I grabbed her bag and walked her to the couch.
“Are the rifles really necessary?” she asked, her fear of guns resurfacing.
“Yes.” Jack and Jay answered together.
“Rifles are the best tool we have to get the job done.” I picked up the vest. “Let me help you put this on.”
The only evidence of Blake’s inner freak-out was the white of her eyes doubling in size as she held her breath.
“Blake, I need you to breathe.” I waited until she’d taken a few breaths before continuing. “The vest is a precaution; we’re all wearing one.”
Jay tapped on his chest to emphasize my point.
“But they don’t know where I am.” The fear in her voice ripped my heart into confetti-sized pieces. I wished I could make this all go away.
“We don’t believe so, but won't risk it,” Jack answered.
She looked at the vest in my hands and nodded. Jack and Jay stood up and slung their rifles, letting me know they were ready.
“Blake, this won't be like when I was protecting you at school. Jay will go out first and make sure the coast is clear. He’ll hold the door to the sedan open while I walk you there. Jack will be behind us.”
I hated scaring her as I delivered the information impersonally, but it was the only way. I had to keep my feelings separate from the job at hand. My priority is keeping her safe, not worrying about her feelings .
“Ready?”
“What about your truck?” she asked. I’d seen that look before—the need to focus on anything except her fear. “You can’t leave it here.”
“I’m not. Jack will drive it.” I stood and extended my hand. “Ready?”
She swallowed hard before placing her shaking hand in mine. “I think so.”
That’s my girl . I leaned down and kissed her forehead before whispering, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I let go of her hand just long enough to sling my rifle, then gave the order, “Let’s go.”
We were safely in the cars and on the road in under three minutes. Jay drove in the front, with Jack behind us.
“You okay?” I asked, knowing she probably wasn’t. But talking would help keep her mind off what was coming.
“I don’t know.” She stared out the window, her hands compulsively pulling at her designer purse strap.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“You’ll think I’m pathetic.”
How could I, given what she was about to risk for Meg? “I assure you, I won’t.”
“I’m scared, but not as scared as I think I should be.” She turned to me. “I should be terrified right?”
God knows I am . “Not necessarily. Why do you think you should be?”
She looked towards Jay’s truck, then down at the vest covering her chest. “All this. You have a gun.” I had two, plus my rifle. “They have rifles. And I don't know what’ll happen.”
“So why aren’t you terrified?” I asked.
She turned towards me and laughed. Not a ‘that was a great joke’ laugh, but the type of laugh one releases when they’re two seconds from losing their shit. “Because you have a gun, and they have rifles, and I know you won’t let them hurt me.”
That was not what I expected her to say.
I turned to her and met her eyes for a second. “Damn straight,” I said, before turning my attention back to the road. I held out my hand and waited for her to take it.
Our relationship had changed in the last twelve hours. It happened without effort. Without my consent, and against my wishes. I kissed her . What was I thinking?
It didn't matter; that kiss had rocked my world and I couldn't wait until I could do it again.
Blake Davenport had snuck in under my radar and taken root in my heart. There’s no going back now .
When her fingers curled around mine, my heartbeat slowed to normal for the first time since drawing my gun on Jack. She’s mine to protect . And I would, no matter what it took.
We rode in silence until my phone rang.
“Sierra Four. You’re on speaker.” Jack would know to be careful with his word choice.
“Copy. They sent instructions. Sierra One will update at Base Camp. Already notified Seven.”
“Plans to keep Aurora safe?”
“Six is back. She and Five are working on it.”
“Copy that,” I said.
Jack disconnected the call. Maxwell being back was good news. One more warrior to help rescue Meg and Blake.
I squeezed Blake’s hand to offer what little assurance I could.
“We’re back to code names?” she asked.
Why does she sound annoyed?
We’d transitioned from casual to mission so many times it came easy to us. Switching to our call signs came with the mindset shift. But Blake doesn’t have our experience .
“We’re in mission mode.”
Before I could explain, she said, “I don’t like it.”
A quick glance was all I needed to see the tears forming in her eyes. I squeezed her hand again. “I know, and I’m sorry, but we have to.”
“Is it easier for you if it’s impersonal?” she asked, her former attitude coming back. “Does it help to dehumanize us?”
“What? No.” Nothing about this job was impersonal. Quite the opposite. “The call signs aren’t to depersonalize or dehumanize anyone. It’s a safety protocol.”
“I don’t like it,” she repeated with a huff while pulling her hand away.
I left my hand on the center console, palm up, ready for her if she changed her mind. “Want me to tell you who’s who, so it feels less impersonal?”
“Sure.”
Wanting to eat up time, I gave a longer explanation than necessary. “Sierra is the military phonetic for the letter S.”
“Sheppard,” she said.
“Exactly. John, as the oldest and CEO of SSI, is Sierra One, Jamie signed on first so he’s Sierra Two, and Jack is Sierra Three.”
“So, Jaden should be Sierra Four, but didn’t you just answer that way?”
“After Jack, we’re numbered in the order we signed our contracts. I’m four, Doug is five, Maxwell is six, and Jay, the last one hired, is seven.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“SSI is growing, and will hire more people sooner rather than later, and we’re thinking of breaking into two teams.” Not that she’d care, but I wanted to keep her talking, so she didn’t have time to freak out.
“What team will you be on?” she said, sounding less irritated.
“I’m not sure. I’ll probably stay on Sierra, given my history with Jack.”
“Your history?” she asked as she placed her hand back in mine.
It was enough to make me momentarily forget how Jack and I met. I laced my fingers with hers and smiled.
Right, we served together in the Army.
I shared a few Army stories, killing time until we were five minutes from the office.
My phone rang.
“Sierra Four, you’re on speaker.”
“Sierra Six and I will wait in back and escort you in. Seven will park in front and watch the door. Three will follow you to the lot.”
“Copy that.”
Jamie ended the call.
I hated what we were about to do, but if it had to be done, there was no one I’d rather have at my back than the SSI team.
My family .
I escorted Blake through the back door and directly up the stairs to the conference room. I didn’t move fast enough to prevent my eyes from glancing at Meg’s empty desk.
Maxwell was right behind us, and quickly joined Doug at the far end of the table. They were arranging a mountain of audio and surveillance equipment while Jack and Jamie focused on the maps and schematics projected on the big screen.
Jay and John walked in a few seconds afterwards.
Blake’s grip tightened on my hand as the organized chaos overwhelmed her.
John’s eyes darted to our joined hands before he made eye contact with me. We shared a nod before he greeted Blake.
He knows what’s at stake .
“Thank you for coming in. We’ll do everything in our power to see that you don’t get hurt,” he said, ushering her to a chair.
Blake stared at the large windows along the side of the room, now blacked out.
“Have a seat,” John’s tone held just enough command that she didn’t argue.
“Can I take this off?” she asked, pointing at the vest.
I was about to say yes, knowing the windows were bulletproof, but looked to John for confirmation. After he nodded, I helped her take it off.
John was about to fill Blake in on everything they’d uncovered so far. Thinking they’d want privacy, I said, “I’ll get to work.”
“You should stay,” John said.
Fuck, this is going to be bad . I sat beside Blake and waited for the hammer to fall.
“Blake, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to be direct.”
She sat up straight and did her best to be brave, but I felt the panic pouring out of her. I reached for her hand.
“Dallas detectives found evidence that your father has been accepting bribes to dismiss cases.” Blake choked on a gasp, but John didn’t stop. “They issued a warrant for his arrest last night. When they went to the house to arrest him, he wasn’t there.”
Blake stopped breathing.
John looked at me over Blake’s head. “No one has seen or heard from him since he left the office yesterday.”
Blake’s death grip on my hand confirmed she understood the bomb John had just dropped on her.
“Warrant…” she let go of my hand as she spun to face me. “Did you know?”
“No.” Though I’d figured it was only a matter of time given the circumstantial evidence piling up.
John continued, pulling Blake’s attention back to him, “They know they can’t get to you while we’re protecting you, so they’re going after the people we love. But they’re mistaken if they think we’ll make the exchange and walk away.”
My, “That’s not going to happen,” was louder than Blake's, “But you have to.”
John echoed my sentiment. “That won't happen, Blake. We’re working on a plan to bring Meg home without sacrificing you.”
“Thank you,” we said at the same time.
“Will you be okay for a few minutes with Sammie?” John asked Blake.
She turned to me, her unspoken question thundering in my ears.
“Sammie’s a Weatherford Police Officer who works here part time. You’ll be okay.”
Turning back to John, Blake said, “Okay.”
I pulled Blake close and kissed the top of her head before standing up. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
“Janerek.”
“Yes, sir.” I said as I nodded to Sammie, who escorted Blake to the smaller conference room across the hall.
Jamie started talking as soon as I closed the door. “We think the warrant for Davenport’s arrest made them panic; they’re getting sloppy.”
“Which means they’re prone to making mistakes,” John added.
“Like taking my wife,” Jack growled.
“We’ll get her back,” I said, clapping his shoulder.
“Sharpe, Maxwell?” John asked.
“We’ve set up two trackers for Blake. One will be obvious and easy for them to find. The other will be well hidden and turned off,” Maxwell answered.
“I’ll turn it on remotely after they sweep for bugs,” Doug said.
“If they don’t sweep?” I asked.
“I’ll turn it on before she gets in their car,” Doug answered.
I didn’t like it. “Too many things can go wrong.” I studied the marked up map. “Where’s the meet-up?” I asked.
“The first ‘meeting’ is here.” Jamie pointed to an X on the map. “They’re demanding we send one person with Blake to retrieve it and then bring her to exchange location,” John said.
“I’ll go,” Jack and I said at the same time.
“She doesn’t go anywhere without me,” I growled at Jack.
Jack got in my face and growled right back, “They. Have. Meg.”
“Stand down,” John ordered.
I found myself in a confrontational stare-down with my best friend for the second time in less than six hours. We’d always had each other’s backs, but this was different. The women we loved were in danger, and neither of us would back down.
“Now!” John stepped between us and forced us apart. “You're friends. Act like it!” John eyed us both, then continued, “Janerek will accompany Blake-”
“What the fuck?” Jack yelled.
John put his hand up. “Janerek will be with Blake in the car, the rest of us will be nearby. We’ll have eyes and ears on them the entire time.”
“They said no comms,” Jack said.
“They did, but we’re ignoring it,” John answered.
“What if they hurt Meg? Or the baby?”
“Meg’s pregnant?” Maxwell, Doug, Jamie, and Jay asked. We'd have time to deal with that shock later.
“She is.” The fear in Jack’s voice destroyed my anger.
“They won’t,” I said, ignoring the shock on their faces. “You heard Blake; they want her money. Hurting Meg serves no purpose now that we’ve agreed to the exchange.” God, it’s killing me to talk about this as if my future happiness wasn’t at risk.
“They have to know we’ll rain hell on them if they so much as chip her nail polish,” Jay added.
“He’s right,” Jamie said. “They're not stupid, at least not the decision makers.”
“You’d think they’d be smart enough to not take Meg,” Doug chimed in.
“If that’s the case, why do they think we’ll let Blake go without a fight?” Maxwell asked. It was a valid question.
John looked at me. “Because they don’t know AJ’s in love with her,” John answered, clapping my shoulder. “They think Blake’s just a client, but she’s family.”
Emotion burned in my throat. Family .
“We’ll bring them both home,” Jamie added, looking at Jack.
“We will.” Jack added, “We’ve faced worse together, Brother. And we’ll lay waste to anyone who gets in our way.”
“Ooh rah,” Jay said, adding the only thing he needed to say.
“Fucking men,” Maxwell said, this time without malice.
We all turned and looked at her.
She rolled her eyes before giving a deep, hearty, “Ooh rah. Now let’s quit talking and save your women.”
I was on board with that, but first, I’d have to watch the woman I loved walk into enemy territory.
I’d need Herculean strength to control my impulses and not kill every last fucker who showed up at the exchange site.