Chapter 28
28
ETHAN
I never doubted Mila’s abilities, but the idea that we’d have Nick outside the door tonight calmed me. I watched them throughout the day while they planned her part in all of this, and they worked effortlessly together. It was obvious they knew each other well and trusted the other’s instincts. Watching them, I once again considered there might be something more between them, but after seeing them together and hearing Nick talk about his fiancée, Maddie, I realized it was all in my mind. They did seem to have a brother-sister relationship, which gave Nick the ability to think rationally about our situation.
I didn’t have that same rationality.
And I was having a really hard time faking it in front of Nick.
He watched us closely while we interacted, and by the time Mila announced she was going to start getting ready, I was convinced he knew something more was going on between us and braced for the conversation I was afraid was coming now that we were alone.
It was after the shower turned on that he finally spoke. “We have a solid plan, one that has potential if all the pieces fall into place exactly where we need them.”
“That’s a big what-if,” I pointed out.
“It is,” he agreed. “She’s trained. She’ll be fine.”
I lifted my head and met his stare. “I know.”
He smiled, almost sympathetically. “Know where your head’s at. I’ve been there. I was in a similar situation with Maddie, and the only thing I could think about was her getting hurt.” When I didn’t answer, he sat in the chair across from me. “When did it happen?”
“When did what happen?” I replied, but I was stalling. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“When did it stop being about the assignment?” He leaned forward and put his elbows on the small table. “When did you cross the line?”
“Me?” I asked, and he jerked up his chin. “The day she started.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Then why agree to do this job?”
“I guess I wanted to prove I could do it,” I explained. “Brody gave me chances to back out, but I didn’t take them. Maybe I should have.”
“You’re not alone in this,” he replied. “I know Mila pretty well, and I can see that something’s changed for her too. What’s bothering you about it?”
“Our emotions are running high right now,” I replied. “She gets off on the adrenaline. I’m wondering how much of her reaction is because of that.”
“I can understand why you’d think that,” he acknowledged.
“She said nothing ever happened between you two.”
He shook his head. “No, we were never more than coworkers.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “We weren’t attracted to each other.” He grinned and ran his hand through his hair. “Plus, I was so fucking hung up on Maddie that I couldn’t see anyone else. Everything I was doing was for the sole purpose of getting back to Maddie. Mila was just a resource to help me get where I needed to go.” He held up his hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to have her on my side because I trusted her. She’s loyal to a fucking fault, and she covered my ass more times than I could count, but I didn’t see her as more than that. Maddie was it for me. I knew when I met her there would never be anyone else.” He studied me for a minute before asking the question I didn’t want to answer. “Mila that for you?”
“I can’t let her be that for me.” I gave him the most honest answer I could.
“Why not?”
“Our situation isn’t anything like what you had with Maddie,” I explained, not wanting to say too much. Mila didn’t want anyone to know what happened. I was doing my best to respect that, but Nick observed way too much, and I was obviously terrible at faking it.
He jerked up his chin. “Sometimes you have to change the situation.”
The water turned off, and I slapped my hand against the table. “I’m gonna grab my phone and go out to the balcony to call my sister.”
He only nodded, but he watched me walk outside, and I wondered what he was thinking. I was tense and needed something to distract me from this assignment and Mila for a few minutes. I smiled when Riley’s voice came across the line.
“Uncle E!” she squealed.
“Hey, squirt,” I replied, and she giggled. “Why are you answering your mom’s phone?”
“Mommy’s peeing.”
“Riley!” my sister yelled, and I laughed. “Give me the phone.”
“Bye, squirt.”
“Miss you. Bye.”
“I wasn’t peeing,” Everly explained immediately. “I was cleaning the bathroom and told her to press accept when I saw your face on my phone.”
I laughed. “She sounds happy.”
“She is.” Everly sighed. “Thanks to you and Brody, Riley’s making all kinds of friends, and she has a playdate with some of them tonight, so she’s extra happy.”
Understanding dawned on me. “Brody’s girls?”
“Yep,” Everly answered, and I could hear the smile in her tone. “Addison specifically.”
“They’re about the same age, right?”
“Yeah, only about six months apart.”
“What about you?” I asked. “You making any friends?”
“More than I’ve ever had, honestly.” She laughed. “Gia’s having some of the moms over to her house tonight, so I’m sure I’ll make more.”
“How’s the job?”
“I love it, E. Dr. Campbell is so great to work with, and he understands that I have a child to work around, considering he does too.” She lowered her voice. “He did tell me something that I don’t think anyone else knows yet, but I have to share with someone.”
“What?”
She lowered her voice even further. “Millie’s pregnant.”
I chuckled. “Why are you whispering?”
“Because your niece is a blabbermouth, and if she hears me, she’ll tell anyone who will listen.” I laughed harder, appreciating my sister and what she was doing for me right now. She had no idea this distraction was exactly what I needed.
“That doesn’t sound like Riley.”
She snorted. “You’re just blinded by how adorable she is.”
“Maybe,” I agreed.
“How’s the job?” she asked, almost tentatively. “You almost done?”
“With any luck at all, we’ll get what we need tonight, and I’ll be heading home.”
“Is this the kind of work you’ll be doing now?”
That was an odd question. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Just want to know how much worrying I need to set aside for you.”
I smiled. “No, at least not all the time. This was a unique situation.”
“Maybe someday you can tell me about it.”
“Maybe.” I drew in a deep breath before exhaling. “He bothering you?”
“Actually, no,” she admitted, obviously aware I was talking about her ex. Leaning my back against the railing, I faced the doors to the room just in time to see Mila walk out of the bathroom in a dress that rivaled last night’s outfit. It looked painted on, and my body roared to life. How the fuck does she get such a strong reaction from me? When I heard Everly’s voice, I dropped my eyes, knowing I’d need to ask her to repeat herself. I hadn’t heard a word she said once my eyes landed on Mila.
She cleared her throat. “You stopped listening to me. Is Mila in the room?”
“What?”
“When Mila’s around, you are oblivious to everything else.” She laughed.
“I am not.” I defended myself even knowing that was probably true. “Besides, how would you know that? You’ve never even met her.”
“I’ve been on the phone with you enough to know. Look, E, you like her. Actually, you more than like her, so get over your shit and tell her.”
“It’s not that easy,” I replied.
“It is, actually,” she answered. “You know I don’t have the best track record, so learn from me that when you find a good one, hold on and don’t let anything stand in your way.”
Shaking my head, I shifted to see Mila and Nick talking. “We’ll figure it out when we finish here.”
“Don’t wait too long, E,” she advised.
I nodded, aware she was right but unable to keep talking about it. “I gotta go. I have work to do.”
“Miss you,” she said simply, and I thought back to what Riley said.
“You say that all the time. I think Riley’s picked up on it.”
Everly laughed softly. “She has. She’s like having a parrot around now. I swear, everything I say is repeated at some point.”
“That’s gonna get annoying.”
She laughed, and I joined in. “Already is, E.”
We said our goodbyes, and I was still smiling when I pulled open the door to walk through.
Mila tilted her head to the side. “Everly good?”
“Yeah. They’re going to Brody’s house for a playdate.”
Mila smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t sound like the Dimarcos like anyone to feel alone.”
Nick met my eyes. “They took care of Maddie when I couldn’t. I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”
“Almost time to go,” I pointed out.
Nick nodded. “You ready?”
“I’m ready to get this done.”
Nick pulled a watch from his duffel bag and handed it to me. “You’ll need to wear this.”
I tilted my head to the side. “I already have a watch.” I lifted my arm to show him the one that was always on my wrist. “Is this a dig because I’m the only one on our team who wears one?”
He smirked and gestured toward it. “This is the one time we’re all grateful you do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Brody was able to find a replica of your watch and installed a device that will allow me to hear what’s going on through an app Kyle developed, which is now on my phone. The downfall is we won’t be able to communicate, but we’ll come up with a couple of words that will give me direction if you’re in a situation that’s beginning to feel dangerous.”
I inspected the watch but couldn’t see any difference between mine and the one I’d be wearing. “How the hell did Brody do that?”
“He’s unbelievable.” Nick’s eyebrows lifted. “I’ve heard the Navy promised him the fucking world if he’d agree to stay, but he said no.”
“They knew what they were losing.” Mila spoke for the first time in a while. “The watch is genius, really, and Samson shouldn’t think twice about it,” Mila added. “You’ve worn it every time they saw you.”
“That was our thinking.” Nick agreed. “We have no idea who these guys are, but if they’re running an operation like we think they are, they’d spot a wire. Even the smallest one probably wouldn’t get past them. If that happened, this would blow up immediately. They can’t suspect anything is different from the last two times they saw you.”
“That’s on us.” Mila glanced at me. “And it’s not easy. Nick and I had to do that while undercover, and we’d remind the other if they were behaving differently. The easiest way to blow our cover is for them to see any variation in our behavior.”
“Okay,” I replied. “You said something about words we’d use.”
“Yeah, and I’ve been working on some ideas. Things Mila and I used to do that signaled the other when things were getting out of our control.” He again pointed at the watch. “Whatever you do, don’t lift the watch toward your face. You’ll need to be cognizant of that behavior because it will be instinctual. The device is sensitive enough that I’ll be able to hear. We tested it extensively.”
“When?” I asked. “You literally flew out this morning.”
He grinned. “We’d already been working on it.”
“He knew we’d need you to come?”
“After the last meeting, we knew we might find ourselves in a situation where you’d need backup. This device was something he’d made but had no reason to use. Until now. He already had the watch, so it was just a matter of testing everything.”
“He’s always a step ahead,” Mila muttered.
“He was a SEAL,” Nick reminded us. “And he was his team leader. It was his job to always be a step ahead.”
“No wonder Elite’s still getting government contracts,” Mila stated.
“That’s exactly why.” Nick agreed, but then moved on. “I think having two words that cover any situation you’re in should be enough.”
“I agree.” Mila nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“Watch is one. It can be used in several situations. You can mention your watch or talk about watching Mila dance. Any form, present or past tense, will signal me that things are going sideways.”
I nodded. “And the other?”
“Easy.”
I made a face of disbelief, and he grinned. “I figured that one would throw you, but you’ll be surprised at how many situations you can fit that in.”
I nodded but didn’t feel as sure about that. “Anything else?”
Nick pulled out a small, black, flat disk and turned the watch over before placing it on the band. “This is another listening device. If you can find a way to peel that off and stick it on a surface anywhere in that back area, that would help. We’re hoping to catch him talking about his business and, with any luck at all, saying something that will incriminate him. I’ll bet you won’t see any cameras once you enter that room. There won’t be any way for the police to know what’s happening in that room without a plant, which tonight is you two.” He pulled a second one from the bag and handed it to Mila while he spoke.
“Got it,” Mila stated firmly.
“Yeah, got it,” I answered.
“Then let’s go.” Nick pointed at the door after I removed my regular watch and put on the new one. “I’ll jump in at the end of the parking lot near the dumpster. No visibility there.”
We headed to the SUV, and I didn’t ask questions. I had no idea how Nick even got to the hotel, and I didn't ask. We both got in, and I drove toward the exit near the dumpster. Nick was in the car in what felt like a second, lying on the back seat. He was so quick that if I didn’t know better, I would have sworn the door never opened.
“Now I really do understand why your nickname in the motorcycle club was Smoke,” I muttered as I pulled out of the parking lot.
He chuckled. “Had to be quick to get the job done.”
We approached a stop sign about a mile from the bar when Nick spoke again. “I’ll jump out at the stop sign. Remember, I’m right outside. You need me to come in, just say the word.”
I stopped at the stop sign, and without a sound, he was gone.
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“He’s good,” Mila said as I made a right turn onto the road that would lead us to the bar. “He talks about the military trying to keep Brody, but honestly, the FBI tried just about everything to keep Nick.”
“Why’d he leave?”
“It’s a hard lifestyle, and he didn’t want to put Maddie and his son in danger by continuing it,” she explained. “He also told me he accomplished what he set out to do and had no reason to stay.”
I pulled into the parking lot and parked in the general area we always had, but we both paused before Mila spoke. “I really hope this is the last fucking time we have to go in there.”
I was surprised by her comment. “Thought you loved this shit.”
“I did at one time,” she confessed. “But doing this job reminds me of why I left. I hate pretending to be something I’m not. I swore I’d never do that again.”
“Then why did you agree so easily to this?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered. “Because I trust this team to get me out safely, and that trust isn’t something I had under my father’s command. But also because of Beth. She’s become a friend to me, and I hate that she’s lived almost her entire life in fear. That needs to end. And I have a feeling it will finally end when we take Samson down.”
I never considered she hated doing this. She always seemed so ready to jump in. “You’re really good at hiding the fact that you don’t want to do this anymore. I always thought you liked it.”
“I'll admit I like the adrenaline rush, but I want to find other ways to get that now. I don’t want to be in situations that make me forget who I am. I lost myself for a long time but over the past six months with this team…” She looked directly at me. “And you, I’m finding myself again, and I’m not willing to go back.”
I nodded. “Then let’s get this done.”
We pushed open the SUV doors and stepped out simultaneously. Walking toward the front of the vehicle, Mila slid her hand into mine as if it was the most natural thing to do.
And maybe, after all we’d been through, it was.