Chapter 18
By the time I’d allowed Tatiana out of bed, the guys were done with breakfast and were sitting around the table going over the latest information Tex and Garrett, our in-house intel specialist, had sent over.
No one said a word about me missing breakfast, and when Tatiana joined us a few minutes later no one said anything to her, either.
Which was good because I was still mad as hell the woman disappeared into her head and believed she was somehow damaged and disgusting.
It gutted me she thought so little of herself.
If nothing else, by the end of this mission, she’d see herself how I did. Capable and strong.
"What time are we leaving?" Tatiana asked, as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Twenty hundred. It's a six-hour drive to the eastern province," Declan answered.
"I have to drop off some documents at the naval base and send a few emails before we leave. Leon instructed me to send the UN my resignation effective immediately,” she told us.
She'd told me about needing to go to base, but not quitting her job.
"Why does he want you to quit?" I asked.
"For one, the parameters of my job with the UN are based exclusively in Bahrain. The other issue is, Z Corps will be taking over my salary."
"What did Z tell you about The Company?" Kyle inquired.
"Not a lot. He said he knew more than me, but not as much as he would've liked to know. He also shared he had unease but didn't elaborate. I don't know Zane as well as the rest of you but I do know he's not a liar. If he has concerns, then I need to consider what that means for me."
I found it interesting she was giving care to what Z had told her. She was correct about one thing, Z didn't bullshit. He was as straight as they came. If he said she needed to be mindful and watch her back, then she needed to be careful.
"What do you know about this Leon Brown?" I asked.
"Just what I told you. The name is obviously an alias. He gives me orders, I follow them. My after-action reports and SITREPS are verbally given directly to him. I have zero contact with anyone else."
"You trust him?" I continued to pry.
"As much as I can trust anyone."
That was a CIA bullshit answer. There was very little trust among spies. They all knew the agency could and would turn against them. Even their fellow operatives would slit your throat if they were ordered to.
"Let me ask you another way, do you trust him with your life?"
"I have for the past couple of years."
"Wrong answer."
"What do you mean, wrong answer? Considering he's the only one who knows my mission specifics, I've obviously trusted him with my life."
"If you were to ask me if I trust any of these men.” I swept the room with my hand.
"With my life my answer would be, yes. Just, yes.
Emphatically, yes. No hesitation. I would trust them with your life.
No question. There is reluctance in your eyes.
I don't like doubt, especially when we're talking about my ass swinging in the wind if you do not a hundred percent trust Leon Brown. "
"I wouldn't trust him with your life," she admitted.
"I'll call Z while you two are delivering her documents to the base and see what he says about giving Leon limited intel," Declan told us.
"Just to add, Tatiana, if you don't trust him to have our six, you shouldn't trust him with yours.
I'll see if Z has anything new on The Company.
He hates the unknown. I'd bet he's been all over Garrett's ass to find anything and everything. "
"I appreciate you asking Zane, but I can go to the base by myself. There's no need to inconvenience anyone."
"No-go, Doll. I'm taggin' along," I told her.
"Why? That's stupid. I've traveled all over Bahrain by myself, Brooks. I don't need an escort."
I was trying to hold back my amusement. She was feisty when she was annoyed. Not only was it cute as hell, it turned me on like nobody's business.
"Didn't think you did."
She sipped her coffee and glared at me. I assumed she was waiting for me to tell her I'd stay behind.
That wasn't happening. I didn't care how many times she'd gallivanted around the country by herself, shit had changed.
One of the changes was someone was actively trying to kill her.
Another was she now had me as a shadow. I didn't give two fucks if it made her mad.
"But you're still coming with me, aren't you?" She set her coffee down on the countertop.
"Yep."
"Why are you so hard-headed? Seriously, you have your own shit to do. The little woman doesn't need a big strong man to follow her around."
"Careful, babe, that giant chip on your shoulder is showing."
"Whatever, asshole. I don't want you coming. Besides, you don't have clearance to get where I'm going."
"Didn't ask if you wanted me to come. Unlike what you are used to, none of us go out alone. We always have someone at our back. Safety in numbers and all that good shit."
"Right, so I guess when you told me you went out to scout out the Bitoo brothers’ location, one of the guys went with you?" She grinned.
"There's always a special exception."
"Great. So, make one now."
"The two of you gonna stand around and bitch all day? As amusing as it is watching Brooks chase his tail, we all got shit to do." Thad chuckled. "And I think it is worth repeating, it is amusing."
Tatiana's face paled when she remembered we had an audience. Her pretty eyes narrowed and I lost the battle. What had started off as a snicker was soon a full-blown belly laugh.
Her eyes rolled and I would swear on a stack of bibles I could hear her teeth grinding.
"You hungry, Doll? I can make us something to eat before we head out."
I wanted to remind her she'd burned a hell of a lot of calories this morning, but I held my tongue. I liked her sassy and annoyed, not embarrassed and ashamed. The way her cheeks tinted pink, it seemed she didn't need the prompt.
"I'm not hungry."
"Then I'm ready when you are."
"I'll grab my stuff." Wisely, she didn't try to argue further.
I waited until she was in the bedroom before I sorted through the papers on the table. "Anything new I need to know?"
"Falcon Holdings has proved to be a gold mine. Tex is connecting dots left and right. Taking out Al Issa is priority number one. If we can recover any of the artifacts, that's gravy, but not our first concern," Dec told me.
"What else has Tex found?"
"Falcon Holdings owns other companies’ outstanding stocks.
When Tex looked into the companies, most of them are bogus.
Nothing produced, no goods sold, nothing purchased.
Those are the companies he's focusing on.
He even found one that traces back to dog rings and cockfighting.
It seems that South America has a huge issue with it," Max added.
"Why would that even be on Tex's radar?"
"Because it pulls in millions of dollars, and why are people investing big money into a fake corporation that’s only income source is animal blood sports?" Max's brow lifted.
His question was rhetorical and didn't require an answer, but I had a question. "Seriously?"
"Serious as a heart attack."
"Well, damn. I thought dogfighting was low-end bullshit. Street gangs and thugs. I had no idea it was that lucrative."
"Brother, big time players are involved. Tex is confident he can track it back to Omni."
"Track what back?" Tatiana asked, coming back into the dining room with her backpack over her shoulder.
"Cocks." I wagged my eyebrows.
"Are you thirteen?" She glared.
“No, really, we're talking about cockfighting in South America.”
“Actually, we were talking about the money involved in dog fighting,” Max interjected.
“Oh, yeah, it’s huge. I know a woman back in San Diego, Faith, who works in a shelter who saves pit bulls. It’s dangerous going in and trying to get the dogs. There’s a lot of money being thrown around, and that’s on the low scale,” she told us. “Anything new with Al Issa?”
“Tex’s latest intel shows Al Issa at his palace. The full staff and extra guards indicates he’s gonna be there awhile.”
“Are we taking out the compound or waiting for him to be on the move, with less security?” Tatiana questioned.
“Right now, the plan is to take the compound. That’s our best shot at recovering the missing tablets,” Declan relayed. Tatiana continued to study the satellite images Tex had sent over. “What are you thinking?”
“I think that’s a lot of armed guards. I count ten on the perimeter.
Three in the courtyard. Five on the roof.
Not to mention, he’ll have a personal detail surrounding him.
That’s eighteen guns we can see, and more than likely a shit ton we can’t.
There are six of us.” She told us something we’d already calculated.
“Easy day,” I told her.
“I hate that SEAL shit. All your tough-guy lingo doesn’t make you invincible. We’ll be out-numbered a minimum of three to one. His staff will be armed, too. Not to mention, the sympathizers in the area will come to his aid. Al Issa isn’t stupid. He keeps the locals in money, just for this reason.”
Max, Thad, Kyle, and Declan all chuckled at her outburst. Obviously she wasn’t pleased they’d found humor in her aggravation. She looked madder than a wet hen.
“We’ll set charges in the surrounding area as a distraction. Once those go off, we’ll set the perimeter to blow?—”
“Or, you wait until he leaves the compound and take out his convoy. The guards will scramble to the location, leaving minimal security at the compound and I can slip in and snatch the tablets.”
“Doll, this isn’t a quick snatch and grab. And once again, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell you’re going anywhere alone,” I corrected.
“That’s—”
“Not up for negotiation,” Declan cut her off. “Once we have updated intel, we’ll go over mission specifics. Until then, wrap up your business in Bahrain so we can get ready to go.”
Tatiana looked like she wanted to argue but wisely kept quiet.
I understood she’d spent the last two years working on her own, but she was going to have to learn that no man on the team was ever going to let her go into a situation solo.
That wasn’t how we worked. Every man had a battle buddy. It was smart—two is one, one is none.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Yep.”
Her short-clipped answer made me smile. Hot damn, she was feisty. And so pretty even in her cargos and long-sleeved button-up shirt that showed none of her toned, tanned flesh. I didn’t need to see it, the memory of her hot and sweaty on top of me was tattooed on my soul.