Chapter 5
FIVE
It was hard saying goodbye.
Just a few years ago, Aiden had been living on the street, trying to protect his brother John in Colorado. And trying to protect the men he’d escaped the torture camp with. He’d lived rough, barely eating enough to stay mobile, with no friends. No one to turn to. His enhancements were unreliable and untrained.
What a change to today.
Thirty men and women stood in the garage of the Elton Building, wishing his little family goodbye. They were some of the most dangerous, unique characters in the world, and he loved them all. He knew they weren’t all here for him. Angela was a favorite, and baby Fallon had wrapped many of these tough men around her little, grubby fingers.
They were family. Aiden felt like he was going away and they would not see them for a long time. But that was ridiculous. He was still a part of the Omega Team, though he’d pulled back from the day-to-day training to care for his family. Fallon was the most important thing in his life, next to Angela, and he had to protect her at all costs. Which meant disappearing.
North Carolina wasn’t necessarily the back of beyond, but it was close. The little corner that they’d found would serve them well, he hoped. Eventually, they wanted to have enough housing to take everyone down, just in case the Elton Building was compromised. Most of the men they’d rescued would prefer to be in the woods, living off the land. And they were already looking for a third location, as a backup.
Wulfe wrapped him up in a bear hug, pounding his back. “Go enjoy your time with your family. Live a little.” Holding his shoulders, Wulfe leaned back. Black says that the town is a Christmas wünderland right now. I think it would do Angela and Fallon güt to see that, and be reminded of the holiday spirit.
Aiden had always marveled that he could hear Wulfe’s German accent even when he was speaking to him mentally. He nodded, but knew he would have to check out the town himself before he risked his family. I’ll get her down there, at some point. I promise.
Wulfe stepped back, his message delivered, and looked for his Elizabeth. Aiden smiled slightly at the way the two of them had fallen so hard for each other. Several of the men he knew had fallen in love, and they all seemed to be incredibly happy. They deserved to be happy after what they’d been through.
Angela, as tough as she was, struggled not to cry. Fallon was crying, holding her arms out to people to touch their shoulders or pat their cheeks. The little girl was sixteen months old, which should have been too young to understand that they were leaving. Aiden knew that she did, though. She had lived in a little bubble of love, and they were leaving that bubble. She felt the sadness of the surrounding people and knew something big was happening.
He rested a hand on her back, trying to calm the sad emotions. Wind blew through the garage, and there was a heavy feeling to the air. She turned to him with a cry, almost leaping out of Angela’s arms, but Aiden was ready for her. He took her weight into his arms and she burrowed against his shoulder, sobbing.
It broke his heart, but he rubbed her back, trying to impress upon her reassurance and excitement for the upcoming trip. It was a nine-hour drive if they didn’t hit traffic or bad weather. With a baby, they’d have to take time out to play and get her out of her seat to stretch and exercise.
Haven herded them into the vehicles. The truck with their stuff had left hours ago, and would hopefully be unloaded by the time they got there. He’d debated flying them in, but their flights to the mountain needed to be minimal. It wouldn’t do to tell everyone where they were going. Planes and helicopters were easy to track. The building was under twenty-four-hour surveillance, but he would not make it easy for them to figure out what was going on.
That was why they had a line of six black SUVs leaving the garage at the same time. In a city like Arlington, Virginia, it would be easy to disappear into the other governmental SUV traffic. Haven and his team were going to escort them to the Foxhole, and Aiden appreciated the protection. Belladonna would ride with them in their vehicle for an extra layer of protection. They would be in two of the trucks, along with the drivers, other enhanced former soldiers.
All six vehicles tooled around through traffic for about half an hour before Aiden’s group got on the turnpike. Aiden felt some of his tension ease, and he looked across at Angela. She had tears in her eyes as she looked down at their finally sleeping daughter. “I hate leaving them, but I know it will be better for her.”
He nodded, reaching for her hand. “I’ll make sure it’s better for her. Wulfe said that Black is confident that the Foxhole is safe. And that it’s a holiday wonderland right now.”
Tears started to drip down Angela’s cheeks. “I had an amazing childhood, and I want that for Fallon, so bad. Even if it takes a ten-man shield team, I want her to experience it.”
Aiden nodded. “I’ll make sure it happens,” he told her, and leaned across the baby to pull her in for a kiss.
Donna turned to look at them. “I haven’t even gotten a hint of anyone following us. They watched us leave, but they didn’t have enough people to cover every SUV, as we’d suspected. So far, we’re doing good.”
They weren’t sure who was the more immediate threat. The CIA pretended to be their friends, but Aiden had a sneaking suspicion they were only concerned about their own interests. If the Dogs deferred too many jobs, he wondered if the CIA would use other methods to ‘encourage’ them to do their bidding.
And former Senator Hall’s sister had recently come forward to take over his interests while he was in prison. The woman presented a kind face to the world, but Dex had gotten a whiff of her at a restaurant in Washington, and he said she didn’t smell as virtuous as she appeared.
Aiden would take Dex’s opinion over anyone else’s.
Then there were the half dozen other countries strongly motivated to continue with the Spartan program.
They had way more targets on their backs than he was comfortable with.
Hopefully, the Foxhole would give them the comfort and security they needed to raise their daughter safely. And maybe it would ease the strain he knew Angela was under.
Haven and Donna had pre-planned their stops and breaks. After two hours of driving, they pulled into a small rest stop and transferred to new vehicles. Still big SUVs, but not as obviously diplomatic. The trucks had a little wear and tear on them, and were different makes and models. Most importantly, they’d never been inside the Elton building. It may have been excessive, but he wasn’t risking Angela and Fallon’s safety on anything.
With the snow that had fallen the night before, it took them a little more than nine hours to get to Whisper Hollow, North Carolina. It was full dark when they got there, so they couldn’t see much of the town, other than the glow of the courthouse lit by an inordinate amount of Christmas lights. They took one of the outer streets, but Angela perked up as she looked out the window and down onto the town.
“Oh, Aiden,” she breathed. “It looks beautiful.”
As they left, she craned her neck back to see. Reaching out, he rested a hand on her shoulder, feeling the surge of hope that rolled through her.
Angela had literally given everything up for him and his crazy group. He would do his best to make the Foxhole their home.
When they arrived at the road that would take them up the mountain, Aiden wasn’t sure what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful wood and iron sign. Their driver and Fallon’s primary guard, Michael Vaughn, keyed the box and looked at the camera, then gave the passcode they’d been given that morning. The gate swung open, and they started up the mountain.
“Okay, this is a lot further up than I expected,” Donna said, laughing.
They bounced along the tree-lined gravel road, climbing, climbing, until they got to the manned security gate. Aiden recognized Mason West immediately and rolled down his window to lean out and clasp the man’s hand. A wash of calm rolled over him, and Aiden grinned.
“Welcome to the Foxhole, sir.”
“Thanks, West.”
The former Marine waved at Angela and the baby, then motioned them through the slowly opening gate.
Aiden scanned the security fence, impressed all over again. It stretched into the night on both sides of the road, perfectly straight and even. He would have to check it out.
Once inside the gate, Aiden thought they were close, but they ended up driving another couple of miles before he started to see lights. Off to the right, they saw the broad expanse of the main… lodge? It seemed too big to be a cabin. It wasn’t a resort. He would have to check with Black for what they’d been calling it.
Then Vaughn crested a rise, and they entered a clearing.
“Is that a greenhouse,” Angela breathed.
“Looks like it,” he murmured. “A big one.”
Fallon grumbled and pushed at him mentally, trying to see out. Aiden reached for the belts strapping her into the seat. He lifted her into his arms and let her look out the window.
Aiden felt a wave of welcome and excitement as they went up the final slope, and turned left. There, nestled in the trees, was a beautiful A-frame cabin. The front porch railing was decorated with twinkling, colorful lights.
Fallon waved her hands in excitement and bounced in his arms. Then the headlights caught sight of the group of people waiting for them in the drive.
As soon as the truck stopped, Aiden was out of the car and heading toward the group, Fallon in his arms. Drake Fontana met him first and drew him into a one-armed hug, then kissed the baby’s cheek. “Welcome home, brother. Hello, sweetheart.”
Then Aiden was taking backslaps from the rest of the guys in Fontana’s crew. He stopped at Black. “I have a feeling you did most of the work here,” he said, smiling.
Black grinned and shrugged a little. “He did help a little,” he said, his voice gravelly, bumping his chin toward Fontana.
“Hey,” his buddy groused, laughing. “I’ll have you know, keeping the power going on this place has been a bitch. Black has taken care of pretty much everything else, though, I will admit.”
Aiden glanced around. Angela was deep in conversation with Jordyn, Fontana’s fiancée, as they looked up at the bright windows of the cabin. A big, muscular dog bounced around their feet, excited at the newcomers. Angela glanced his way, and their eyes connected. He could feel the pulsing anticipation, so he reached for her hand. “Let’s go look.”
Angela took his hand, and they walked through the parting crowd. There were a couple of steps up to the broad deck. The peaked roof covered the deck, and Aiden had a flash of insight. They would be using this space a lot.
As soon as he opened the door and saw the decorated Christmas tree, he knew Angela would be in tears. Turning, he pulled her into his arms as they looked around.
Even his throat tightened up in appreciation. The cabin was beautiful to begin with, but the holiday touches made it that much more special. There were twinkle lights everywhere, which he knew Angela loved, and Fallon cooed, holding her hand out to the tree. Aiden set her down, and she toddled toward the tree. He held her hand and when they got close, he kneeled beside her.
“Don’t pull on it. Just look, Fallon. It’s very pretty, huh?”
She grinned, her bright little baby teeth shining. “Pitty, Daddy.”
Aiden snorted at ‘pitty’. One of these days she’d find her r’s.
Angela was wandering through the cabin, looking in cupboards and even the fridge. Then she disappeared into the depths of the house, her coat dropping to the hallway floor as she walked.
“Let’s go see what mama’s doing, Little Bit.”
He held a hand out to her, and they walked through the kitchen, and back into the hallway where Angela had disappeared. The first room they came to was a small bathroom. Looked very nice. Serviceable. Then they found Fallon’s room. It was pink and girly and had a beautiful oak crib on the left wall. She bee-lined for a box of toys in the corner and he watched her play for a minute. There was a window in here, but it had nice wooden blinds that would block out the light when they needed it to. As he looked out the window, he could see just an expanse of snow-laden woods. It was stunning.
There were high-tech sensors in the corner of the window to register movement. He’d also spotted the tiny camera up in the corner of the ceiling. Aiden flipped the light switch. So far there had been no fluctuation or weakness in the power. Black and Fontana had done an amazing job up here. This was so much more than he’d expected.
Fallon was happy playing with a stuffed giraffe, so he stepped out to look at the rest of the house.
When he walked into the master bedroom, he felt a sense of peace he hadn’t felt for a long time. Or maybe it was Angela. She was sitting on the corner of the bed, looking out the expansive window directly across from their bed. It was another pristine snow scene. There was a throw blanket draped across her lap, and she was just staring, sightlessly. When the mattress dipped beneath his weight, she focused and turned to him with a sad smile. Tears had left tracks down her cheeks, and he reached out to swipe them away with his thumbs.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
She shook her head, fresh tears welling and falling. “Nothing is wrong. It’s all amazingly perfect, and I’m scared to believe we can be here.”
Aiden let out a soft laugh and pulled her into his arms. “I promise you, it’s ours, babe. The original plan was that the three of us, Wulfe and Fontana and I, would have these three cabins. But Fontana said the other day that Jordyn likes where they are, in the main building. Maybe when she has the baby, she’ll want to move out here, but for now, it’s just us.”
“I love it,” she admitted. Then, cleaning her face, she straightened. “Gonna have to get some good curtains for that window, though. No sense showing the boys all the goods.”
Aiden tipped back his head and laughed. “Definitely.”
Once they’d checked out the cabin and the upstairs loft, which could be a perfect office/guest room, Aiden went back out on the deck. Black explained to him how to switch from main power to solar power if they had a glitch. And he showed him the mechanicals of the cabin. They had an immediate hot water heater, so they didn’t have to worry about running out.
“We’ve been here a solid year, and the main spring we get our water from never stops. It wells up from the earth and is so fresh and cold. It goes through a filter, of course, but it barely needs it.”
They were in the kitchen now. Black ran him a glass of tap water and held it out. Aiden took a big drink.
“Okay,” he said, looking at the water swirling in the glass. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted water that crisp.”
Black nodded knowingly. “The septic drains down through several leach beds, and we’ve been using some of the dirt in the greenhouse. Sounds gross, but as soon as you taste the tomatoes that grow fresh literally all the time, you won’t care. We appreciate you sending us Evan. He’s really made a fantastic change in our diets.”
“Yeah,” Aiden said, frowning. “Actually, he was missed in the Dog Pound as soon as he left,” he laughed.
Black leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. “Well, I figure more people will be down here eventually, anyway.”
“Yes. We’d like to just keep the Omega Team up there in the Elton building. But we’ll see how everything flies. For now, Ang and I just want to raise our baby in peace for a while.”
Black nodded, frowning. “I get it. We run regular sweeps through the town, and no one has expressed an inordinate amount of curiosity about the group. I cycle men down through occasionally to pick up deliveries and that, just to feel for interlopers. The town isn’t very big, so we would notice. Hardy Yates has all sorts of programs running, scanning for mention of us. No one knows we’re here. Your trucks were scanned as soon as you pulled through the lower gate, and we would have been pinged if you’d had a tracker on board.”
Aiden was aware of the extensive security measures. They all took part in the meetings, but it was nice to hear that everything they’d planned seemed to be working as intended. Yates was better than Krammer in certain respects, so he had to have faith that the men were doing everything they could to keep the men, and his family, safe.
“Angela is ecstatic with the cabin. Thank you for everything you did to get it ready.”
Black tipped his dark head. “It was a lot of us. And a woman from town who did all the decorating.”
“That was what really put her over the edge,” he said, smiling. “The decorations. It made it feel like a home.”
“Well, it is a home,” Black said, pushing to his feet and slapping Aiden on the shoulder. “You just weren’t here yet.”
Aiden nodded, his throat tightening again. He’d come a long way in just a few years, but this was the first time he felt like he had found a place that could be his own.
He didn’t know how long he was going to be here. No one did. But for now, they were flying under the radar, and he was going to make the most of it.
“So, tell me about this winter wonderland thing.”