Chapter 11
11
MILA
I was walking down the hallway toward the reception area, already planning everything I’d need to take on the trip, when I heard my name. Turning, I faced Brody, who gestured behind him at his office door.
“Need to see you in my office before you leave.” He gestured toward Kyle and Ethan, who’d just stepped out of the conference room. “You too.”
Turning, I made my way back down the hallway to follow Kyle and Ethan, who were already heading toward Brody’s office. Kyle stood to the side of the door and waved us in ahead of him.
Brody looked up as we entered his office and called out, “Close the door behind you, Kyle.”
Once the door was closed, I glanced between Kyle and Brody before my stare landed on Jax, who stood across the room. “What’s going on?”
“We need to talk about identification,” Jax replied.
“What do you mean?” Ethan asked, but I already suspected where this conversation was headed.
“We can’t send you as Ethan and Mila,” he clarified. “Ethan and Mila can easily be linked to Elite, which we don’t want for obvious reasons.”
Ethan glanced at me before looking between Brody and Jax. “So who are we?”
Brody lifted two manila folders from his desk, and I saw the tabs, one folder for each of us. “Ethan, your name is Joe O’Neill, and you’re an electrician from North Carolina.” He handed him the folder. “Everything you need is in there, including your new ID.”
His eyes widened. “You already have it done?”
Brody jerked up his chin. “When we hire new employees, Kyle creates an alternative identification in case it’s needed.”
“How?”
“Leave that to the expert.” Kyle pushed off the door and stood near Jax so we were facing all three men. “The identification in that folder will pass any test. Don’t worry about using it.”
“Who am I?” I asked, but from the way Brody was watching me, I had a bad feeling I already knew.
He glanced at Jax and tapped the folder with my name against the palm of his hand. “We want you to use an existing ID.”
My body tensed because I knew where he was going with this. “From my time undercover.”
He studied me carefully, just watching for my reaction. “It’s established. It fits what we’re doing here, and it gives you a history to talk about if you need something.”
“Makes sense.” I shrugged because it did. However, it being logical didn’t make me feel better about using it.
“But you don’t like it?”
I exhaled loudly. “It’s not a time I like to remember, that’s all, but if it helps us now, then let’s use it.”
“This gonna be a problem with the FBI since it was an alias they created?” Ethan asked me.
“Not sure,” I replied honestly. “They won’t reuse it, so I don’t think they care much about it, but I could ask.”
“Not asking anyone.” Brody shook his head. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
“Except they could know,” I admitted.
Brody narrowed his eyes. “You think he’s watching you?”
“He knew I was working for Elite without me telling him.”
“Who?” Ethan looked between Brody and me.
I sighed. “My father.”
“Why is he watching you?”
I glanced between Jax and Brody. I hadn’t shared any details about the meeting I had with my father. When Jax asked how it went, I’d said it was fine. With everything going on with Beth and this case, I hadn’t wanted to add more to his plate.
“I wasn’t sure he was, and he would never admit he had been, but he knew I had Beth under my protection, and he could've only had that information one way.”
“He said that?” Jax asked.
“Not in so many words, but when he asked me to go to DC to see him, and I declined, saying it was because of my assignment, he referenced her.”
“Why does he have eyes on you?” Jax inquired, and I could tell from his expression that he knew I was holding back. “What aren’t you telling us?”
I hesitated and realized I didn’t want to tell them. I didn’t want them to know that I was offered an opportunity with the FBI because I didn’t want them to have any reason to ask me to leave Elite. "I didn't know it at the time, but my father told me the FBI wants me back, specifically the director who my father reports to.”
“They need you undercover?” Brody asked.
“He told me the director needs my skill set and instructed my father to offer me whatever I wanted to come back. I knew exactly what that meant and where they would put me.”
“What did you say?”
“I turned them down. Told my father there was nothing he could offer that would bring me back and that I liked working with Elite.”
“Why are we just hearing about this now?” Jax asked.
I sighed. “Elite was dealing with enough. I figured my problem with my father could wait until we were sure Beth was safe.”
“What’s bothering you about it?” Brody watched me closely, and it was obvious he saw what I was trying so hard to conceal. He’s shown time and time again why he was a leader on his SEAL team. He didn’t seem to miss anything, even the shit everyone thinks they’re hiding well.
“I don’t want to leave Elite,” I answered honestly.
“Good,” Jax answered. “Because we don’t want that either.”
Some of the tension I’d been feeling lifted, but more was still bothering me. “Nobody tells my father no. Especially me.”
“What did he say when you declined?”
“Only that the director wouldn’t be happy.”
“What can he do?” Ethan asked. “You don’t work for him anymore.”
I considered that before I spoke. “My father has the ability and the resources to make my life difficult if he wants to.” I shrugged. “He doesn’t want me back at the FBI, but the director does, and from my experience, what the director wants, he gets. To be honest, I have no idea what that means for me.”
“Has the director called you himself?” Jax asked.
“No. I’m hoping he’s let go of the idea since my father couldn’t convince me.”
“From this moment on, your father is no longer your problem.” Brody spoke, and I twisted my head to meet his stare. “He’s Elite’s problem.”
My eyebrows drew together. “What does that mean?”
“That means Jax and I will handle him. You follow instructions from us, and we’ll protect you.”
He looked at Jax who lifted his chin in agreement. “No one is going to strong-arm one of our employees, not even the director at the FBI.”
“You do realize he could make things difficult for the company, right?”
Jax smirked. “He won’t do that.”
I glanced between them and looked toward Kyle, who was also wearing a smug smile, before facing Jax again. “Why not?”
“Because we did a job for him personally.”
My eyes widened. “You have government contracts?”
“Sometimes,” Brody admitted.
“How?” Ethan spoke up.
“There are times the FBI doesn’t choose to take a case, and it’s handled externally,” Brody explained. “They’ve used us several times. They like that we were trained by the military. They know both of our records while we served and that we’ve led teams successfully. They also know we understand confidentiality and how important that is, which is why the director chose us specifically to handle a personal matter for him.”
“Which means...?” I gestured for him to move on when he paused.
“Which means Elite is safe from any government interference as long as we stay within the legal bounds. They won’t do anything to shut us down.”
“Are you sure?” I questioned them. “My father has a lot of influence.”
“Your father only has that much authority over the team he manages. Everything that has anything to do with Elite and our contracts with the FBI, is well above him.”
My shoulders dropped and the weight I’d been carrying finally lifted. “That’s a relief.”
“In the future, if something like this happens, we need to know about it.” Jax continued. “I understand you didn’t think this was a priority, but anything that puts any member of our team at risk needs to be reported immediately. We like to get out in front of shit,” Jax watched me closely while he spoke. “It’s a hell of a lot easier than playing from behind.”
“Understood.” I nodded. “But something I don’t understand is if the director knows I work for Elite, why would he try to get me back? Wouldn’t he think that would piss you off?”
Jax raised his eyebrows. “That’s my question also, and one I’ll have an answer to by the end of the day.”
With a nod, I glanced at Ethan who was also watching Jax closely. I had a feeling today would get a little uncomfortable for the director of the FBI.