CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Boone and Luna silently walked hand in hand to the conference room. The heaviness of what loomed before them felt like a distant angry storm rolling in.
They turned in to the room, and Cole was standing with his hands planted on the table, a bunch of satellite maps spread out in front of him. He looked up, took notice of them, then returned his attention to the maps.
Luna moved to her usual spot and began setting up her laptop for the briefing. Some might think her unsmiling earnestness was her focusing on the mission, which was partially true. But Boone knew it was also the mission itself troubling her.
He and the rest of the team were traveling to a part of the world that carried generational grudges against their enemies.
Since some of the Dark Ops operators spent time fighting wars in that region, they would definitely be considered their enemy.
Add to that Boone’s connection to Udall, and they were walking into a highly combustible level of hostility.
Because the moment his old teammate learned Boone was responsible for destroying his business—and they would destroy Udall’s business—the asshole would come hunting for him.
The rest of the team filtered into the room with a simple nod of acknowledgment and took their usual seats.
Caleb entered right behind them and sat in Eddie’s chair.
Some carried insulated tumblers. Others had mugs from the break room, all of them likely filled with some form of caffeinated beverage.
They all had the same look of focus and intensity.
Everyone except Caleb was dressed like they were ready to get in some mountain climbing. Luna had even included some climbing rope to hang from their bags. No words were spoken. No jokes were made. They were all in mission mode.
“Good morning, everyone. We have received some updated intel, which has moved up our operation.” Cole scanned the group and sat down. “Luna will fill you in.”
“Udall has secured an aircraft to transport himself and the girls out of Aliabad. So Mason is at the airstrip with the corporate jet, and he will fly you all to Joint Base Charleston. Wheels up at oh seven hundred.” On the outside, she appeared calm and professional, but Boone sensed worry lurking just beneath the surface.
“Eddie will meet you there with his gear. From Charleston, you’ll fly to Al Udeid Air Base, where a helicopter will be made available to you.
Lucas and I spoke on the way here, and I’ll let him tell you more about that. ”
“Thanks, Luna.” Lucas sat forward and focused on his teammates.
“Burke has arranged for an MH-60 Black Hawk to be available to us at the base. It’s similar to the ones I flew, but without all the cool miniguns, chain guns, and Hellfire missiles.
We’ll fly into Gilgit Airport under the cover of darkness, and Khalid, our contact in Aliabad, has made arrangements for us to use a small, isolated hangar.
We’ll stash the helo inside and use it as our base of operation.
Once the mission is done, we’ll reconnoiter at the hangar, fly to Al Udeid, then back to Charleston. ”
He sat back, and Luna continued her briefing.
“All of your electronics are good to go, and you should all have extra batteries, just in case.” She tapped a key on her laptop to open a program and quickly scanned it.
“I can see here that you’re all wearing your bio-patches and that they’re operational.
Are you guys comfortable with the operation of your new body-worn cameras?
” They all nodded. “Good. Once you turn them on, I’ll be able to see what the cameras are seeing.
Don’t forget to utilize the infrared mode when necessary.
Your cellphones should work until you land in Afghanistan.
At that point, they essentially become paperweights.
I recommend you turn them off and leave them in the hangar at the airport.
That’s when you should power on your sat phones.
They’ve all been waterproofed to about twenty-five meters, and I managed to increase the range of service somewhat.
It’s not a ton, but it should be better than past missions.
Satellite comms will be up and available before you touch down in Charleston, and, as usual, I’ll be monitoring the entire operation from here.
” She sat back and turned to Cole. “That’s it. ”
“Luna is aware of the op plan, as well as the multiple backups. I will fill you all in on the flight over. Once we hit the ground in Afghanistan, the clock starts ticking. We get in, find those girls, get Udall, and get the hell out.” He rolled back his chair and stood.
“Boone, you and Viking load your gear into my rig. Hawk, load yours into Lucas and Calliope’s truck. We’ll leave here in ten.”
He was talking quietly with Caleb as he left the room. The rest of the team pushed back from the table, stood, and quietly followed them out.
Boone called out to Cole, “I’ll be out in a minute.”
His boss looked from him to Luna, nodded, and headed into the stairwell.
Boone put his arm around her shoulders, she leaned her head against him, and they walked to the ops center. She gained access to the room and set her laptop on the desk running along the big control panel. She hesitated, as if gathering herself, before turning to face him.
He spoke first.
“Luna, there’s something I need to say before we leave.” His voice cut through the tension in the room. “I love you.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and she slowly began to close the distance between them.
“I want to spend every night holding you in my arms, and I want to wake up to your beautiful face every morning,” he said.
“I want you to be there whenever I get back from an op. I want your toothbrush in my bathroom and your clothes in my closet. I even want that nasty flavored creamer you like in my fridge.”
She giggled, and a tear streamed down one cheek just as she stopped in front of him.
He held her precious face in his hands. “I want you.”
“I love you, too. So much.” Luna placed her hands over his. “And I definitely want you, too.”
A tear streamed down her other cheek, and he swiped it away with his thumb.
“Please be careful.” She sniffled and blinked away tears.
“Luna, if something happens to me …” He reached into his pocket, pulled out an envelope, and held it out to her.
She shook her head. “No, I—”
“If something happens to me, I want you to open this.” He lifted her hand and put the envelope in it. “But Luna, I have every intention of coming back to you.”
“I really need you to come back to me, okay?” she whispered.
“I will.” He yanked her into his arms. “I promise.”
Luna wrapped her arms tightly around him, and the envelope crumpled in her hand when she tightened her fists into the back of his shirt. Then she kissed him.
Before things heated up further, making it that much more difficult to leave her, he slowly nibbled his way across her lips and ended the kiss. He held her head in his hands, kissed her forehead, and stepped back.
“I love you.” Luna stiffened her back and raised her proud chin. “And I’ll be right here, watching over you until you come home.”
Thanks to Luna, home now had a whole new meaning. Home was the two of them, together, loving each other.
“See you soon, babe.” He winked, turned, and left her standing there, holding his letter and surrounded by the technology she would use to keep them safe.
Four hours later, Boone and the rest of the team, including Eddie, were in the belly of a massive C-17, halfway across the Atlantic, en route to Al Udeid Air Base. Some sat or lay on their sleeping bags spread out on the deck. Others chose to use the drop-down seats along the side.
“Okay, I don’t know about you guys, but Eddie, I can’t stand it that you’re not talking to us about what happened.” Calliope had tried to hold her tongue, but his sister cared too much.
“I’ve been wondering when you would crack.” Eddie gave a throaty laugh. “Cole told you what happened to my kid sister, right?” They all nodded. “Well, I needed to see for myself that she was okay, but I also wanted to find out who the motherfucker was that tried to grab her.”
“Any luck?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact.” He shared a look with Cole. “We’re pretty sure it was someone who works for our old pal, Rodrigo Munoz.”
“Alejandro Munoz’s son?” Hawk was lying on the deck of the plane and raised up to rest on his elbows. “He took over his father’s organization, right?”
“He did.” Boone was the only one who didn’t know the history, so Cole filled him in.
“His older brother, Alejandro Munoz Jr., was supposed to take over. Only problem was, he was a degenerate, womanizing cokehead, and his father didn’t trust him to handle the job.
For reasons I won’t go into now, Junior kidnapped Dulce and took her to Colombia. ”
“I was working deep undercover as a part of Junior’s inner circle, so I was there when they brought Dulce in.
” Eddie was on one of the drop-down seats, and he leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees.
“The only way to get her out of there alive was to blow my cover. Which was fine, because after more than three years, I was burned out as hell.” He sounded so blasé, like it was an everyday occurrence for a guy to put himself in the crosshairs of a deadly cartel.
“Anyway, I’m guessing Rodrigo somehow found out I was involved and decided to get to me through my family. ”
“Why come after you, though?” Cole rubbed his chin. “He hated his brother and was pissed when his father got them into human trafficking. One of the first things he did when he took over was to eliminate that part of the business from the organization.”
“Yeah, he thought it was beneath them.” Eddie scoffed. “One of the largest drug-dealing cartels in South America, whose product has killed millions of people, and that was where he drew the line.”
“That’s one seriously fucked up moral compass.” Calliope was sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag, polishing her rifle scope.
“My guess would be, he’s trying to save face with the other cartels.
He can’t have them thinking he’s too weak to go after the guy who managed to infiltrate their organization for three years and played a part in getting his old man and loser brother killed.
” Eddie removed his seat belt and spread out his sleeping bag next to Hawk’s.
“Anyway, thanks to Cole, my family has protection, and the guy in charge of the agency assured me that Rodrigo won’t get anywhere near them.
I’ll deal with that asshole when we’re done with this op. ”
“We’ll deal with him,” Cole clarified.
“That works, too.” Eddie lay down on his back, crossed his hands beneath his head, and fell asleep like a man without a care in the world.
“How does he do that?” Calliope tossed the polishing cloth down next to her and carefully tucked her scope back in the bag.
Boone slipped his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his photos of Luna.
He’d managed to sneak a few of her that first day she came to the ranch.
His favorite was one with her nuzzling Patience’s nose with her own.
It was a candid, unposed shot, and it showed the powerful connection she shared with the horse.
Calliope zipped her duffle bag shut, popped up from the floor, and moved over to sit next to him. She glanced over at his phone.
“Great pic.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
“I love her.” He clicked off his phone and tucked it back in his pantleg pocket.
“I hope you told her that.” She kept her voice low so their conversation remained between them.
“I did, and she said she loves me, too.” So that was convenient.
“What’s not to love?” She was quiet for a moment. “I assume she’s told you about—”
“The Farm? Yeah, she told me about that during our first ride together.”
“Saying goodbye is hard, isn’t it. Lucas and I have been together on all but one mission, and watching him leave without me was brutal.
I hope I never have to do that again.” She glanced over at her husband, who was chatting quietly with Viking.
“It does make for a great homecoming.” Her eyebrows bobbed up and down.
“Seriously, though, she’s tough. She’ll be fine. ”
“She really is. Luna has doubted herself for so long, it’s nice that she’s finally starting to realize that what she went through actually made her stronger.” He was relying on that strength to carry her through his absences.
“I’m happy for you, little brother. Both of you.” She patted his knee, stood, and moved over to plop back down on her sleeping bag.
Boone watched her inspect and wipe down each piece of her rifle for the third time. What a lucky guy he was to have stumbled into this amazing life. A life he looked forward to sharing with Luna.