Chapter 16 #4
Brawler’s blood pounded. He didn’t give a damn what was happening around them.
They were here for Emily. They stood on that tarmac with enough firepower to face down an army, and they had taken her from them with a few pieces of fucking paper.
Each footfall was a reminder she was here somewhere, alone, scared.
Fury vibrated in his bones, tight enough to split him apart.
At the reception desk, a young aide half-rose, clutching a clipboard like a shield. “G-Gentlemen, what can I do for you?”
Tex’s voice cracked through the lobby, flat and lethal. “Where is Emily Shade?”
The aide faltered, eyes darting to his phone. “Emily Shade?”
“Call who you need to call. You’ve already kept us in the dark for three days.”
He picked up the phone, dialed, his eyes going over them.
In them was respect and maybe a little awe.
After fifteen minutes, when the tic in Tex’s jaw started to warn of impending doom, a man emerged from the elevator, and spying them, strode forward.
Another suit with a smirk. Mid-level authority oozing self-importance.
“Kevin Hall,” he announced smoothly, flashing a badge.
“I’m handling Miss Shade’s case. You’ll direct all questions through me.
” His gaze raked over them, dismissive. “She was debriefed. Warned not to speak of the operation. If she violates that directive…” He shrugged one shoulder. “Treason carries a heavy price.”
Something primal cracked inside Brawler’s chest. His fists balled so tight his knuckles popped. The image of Emily hearing that word, treason, knocked the air out of him. He took a step forward, jaw locked, every muscle coiled to put Hall straight through the polished wall.
“Bondo, Easy,” Tex said softly, and Brawler found his arms grabbed, his teammates holding him back from making a big mistake.
“Careful,” Tex warned low, without looking at him.
Hall’s smirk widened, misreading restraint for weakness. “She’s lucky we released her at all. Frankly, gentlemen, you should be thanking me. She could’ve been held indefinitely.”
Bondo shifted, looming half a step closer. Easy’s jaw worked. Shark’s hands flexed at his sides. The air vibrated, dangerous as a tripwire, seven lethal operators straining against the leash.
Hall flicked a glance to security posted at the far end of the lobby. “If you don’t stand down, I’ll have you removed. You may be SEALs, but this is not your battlefield.”
The guards tensed, heads shaking as if they had no intentions of assaulting Navy SEALs. It was still respect Brawler saw in their eyes. No way would they fight fellow Americans, especially guys doing their jobs. Not here. Not like this.
Every line of Tex’s body vibrated with fury he couldn’t unleash. He gave Hall a look that promised retribution later, then turned sharply.
“Let’s move,” he ordered.
The SEALs pivoted as one, boots striking marble, the echo a war drum rolling down the hall. Everyone watched them go.
Brawler’s pulse thundered, fists still clenched. He’d never felt so raw, so cornered. Emily had been threatened, diminished, and they were still being stood down by mouthpieces that had no idea what they were talking about.
But in his gut, he knew this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
The heavy glass doors sighed shut behind them. The seven of them spilled back onto the granite steps like they’d just been ejected from a fight they weren’t allowed to finish.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The air was thick with the words they hadn’t been able to say inside.
Shark dragged a hand down his face and swore under his breath. “Son of a bitch.” He yanked out his phone. “All right, boys. Time for the big guns. Our QRF’s just a phone call away.”
He hit speed dial. The line clicked, and her voice came through bright and warm.
“Hey, babe? You all right?”
“Right as rain. Flash…he’s in a coma.”
“What? Oh my God. Where? Has his family been notified already?”
“He’s in Bethesda…Walter Reed. We’re tied up. Can you?—”
“Of course. Me, Nora Cam, Astrea, and Quinn. Did Twister let Sadie know? We can be wherever you need us.”
“Sadie is deployed. We’ll tell her as soon as we can. Let them go to him. We need you…in DC.
“Oh, okay. When can I get you into?—”
“Babe…you’re on speaker.” A pause. Then a laugh.
The guys chuckled, tension bleeding off in low rumbles of amusement.
“Oops,” Maddy said, utterly unrepentant. “It’s not like they don’t know what we’ll be doing when I see you.” That got a chorus of groans and a few wolf whistles. Her tone softened, teasing. “I’m crazy about you, handsome. What can I do for you?”
Shark leaned back against the SUV, his grin sharp. “We got kicked out of the State Department.”
The line went quiet. Then her voice came back, hard enough to cut steel. “What?”
The laughter died instantly.
Maddy’s tone wasn’t playful now. It was pure Towson. Ambassador’s daughter, professor, woman who knew exactly how to wield authority. “You wait right there. I’m on my way, and I’m calling Daddy.”
The line went dead.
Brawler barked out a laugh, low and rough. “I love it that she doesn’t even ask why you got kicked out.”
Shark pocketed his phone, mouth quirking in a dangerous grin. “Naw. Maddy’s on the warpath. Believe me. Kevin Hall’s about to get an attitude adjustment.”
The team’s chuckles rolled into silence again, the anticipation heavy as a storm on the horizon.
Tex slid his sunglasses on, voice flat. “Then let’s see just how fast Washington folds when our reinforcements arrive.” They went back inside, but this time took seats in the waiting area.
They didn’t have long to wait. The lobby doors hissed open, heels clicking against marble with the rhythm of a battle drum.
Dr. Madeline Maddox, doctorate in seismology, the earthquake queen.
She was about to roll through here with the shaking quality of a 9.
2 on the Richter Scale. Breezy dress, feminine, but no one mistook her for soft with those eyes blazing.
A half dozen staffers looked up from their phones, blinked, and straightened instinctively.
She went directly to Shark, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him senseless.
Brawler waited, some of the guys cleared their throats, and Tex laughed.
She lingered over his mouth for half a second, then bit her bottom lip, her eyes dancing. “Hi, Bale,” she whispered.
“Hi, whirlwind.”
She gave him a sexy little look, then turned, her eyes sharpening. Kevin Hall was in the middle of a smug recounting to security “…men like that need to understand chain of command…” when she cut across the floor, every inch of her radiating fire.
“Dr. Madeline Maddox,” she announced crisply. “I’m here on behalf of my husband.” She turned to Shark and set her hand against his arm. “Bale Maddox and their charge, Emily Shade, zoologist, researcher, and civilian contributor to national security. I want her status. Now.”
Kevin’s smirk slid back into place. He brushed her off with a smarmy wave of his hand. “I assure you, this doesn’t concern you. Your…emotional attachment to certain Navy personnel doesn’t make you relevant here. So why don’t you leave the business of State to those who understand it?”
The SEALs bristled as one. Shark took a step forward, but Tex’s arm shot out, keeping him in check. Brawler’s fists curled, his jaw grinding audibly.
Before Kevin could form a reply, the air in the lobby shifted. They turned to find Ambassador Clay Towson, tall and commanding in a dark suit, security detail at his back, standing there. The staff snapped upright like schoolchildren caught gossiping.
Towson’s gaze locked on Kevin Hall. “Did I just hear you dismiss Dr. Maddox?” Towson’s tone was soft, lethal. “That’s unfortunate. Not only is she a formidable lobbyist, but she is my daughter. She cut her teeth on diplomacy.” His gaze sharpened. “Consider your future prospects…adjusted.”
Kevin’s color drained so fast it was almost comical. “Ambassador…sir…I didn’t realize.”
Brawler stood silent, grim satisfaction rolling through him like thunder, and he could feel it all in waves from his brothers.
Shark grinned like a great white. “You insulted the wrong person this time.”
“This is very out of the ordinary,” Kevin stammered, sweat already glistening at his temple. “Protocol is what I follow, and I did that.” Kevin swallowed hard, already digging his grave with both hands.
Not giving him time to regroup, Towson didn’t miss a beat. “Why don’t we talk to Eleanor and work this all out.”
He straightened, clasped his daughter’s arm with quiet pride, and turned to the SEALs.
“Gentlemen. Let’s not waste another second. We’ll go directly to the secretary’s office.”
“Sir,” Tex said, giving him a sharp nod.
Towson’s presence cut through the marble-and-glass lobby like a ship’s prow through water, and the whole building seemed to fall in behind his wake. Suits parted, aides scrambled to clear hallways, even the guards who’d been hovering anxiously fell into step to escort the group.
Shark moved past Hall, sleekly honed with a quiet menace, shoulder bumping him hard. His voice was low, almost companionable. “We’re going upstairs now,” he murmured. “Try to keep up.”
Kevin was left scrambling to catch up. His throat bobbed as the elevator doors slid open. He stepped inside last, boxed in by seven lethal operators, a furious wife, and daughter, and the man whose respect he’d just torched.
The ride up was silent except for the hum of machinery, heavy with the promise that the real reckoning hadn’t even begun.