Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Smiley leaned against the wall of the conference room back on the naval base. It was nearly one in the morning—and they were no closer to finding the missing women than they’d been earlier. Smiley hadn’t slept, but neither had anyone else. Everyone was on edge and tense, and tempers were short.
Putting over a dozen amped-up, stressed-out Navy SEALs in a room with no clear objective or plan wasn’t a great idea. And yet no one was going to leave. Not without having some intel on the whereabouts of three of their own.
Someone had ordered takeout, but hardly anyone had touched the food. Just the smell was making Smiley sick. Besides, all he could think about was what Bree might be eating—or not eating, as he feared was the case. How could he eat when he knew she was hungry and hurting?
They’d spoken a couple times to Ryleigh via phone, but she didn’t have updated intel to share yet.
A woman named Beth was working to try to track Castillo to any connections he might have at shipyards in Ensenada.
They needed to narrow down where that chicken truck might end up before a team headed into Mexico.
The commander was making calls to get emergency approval to send Smiley and his team into that country, but there was a lot of red tape to work through with both the US and Mexican governments.
Obviously, the authorities south of the border weren’t thrilled about a group of armed-to-the-teeth SEALs coming into their country, but because of Fiona and Julie’s past history in Mexico, the commander was slowly making headway.
Not quick enough for Smiley, Cookie, and Hurt though.
The older men looked as if they’d aged a decade overnight. Smiley had a feeling he probably looked the same. Just because he and Bree weren’t married didn’t mean he was any less affected.
He loved her.
There was no doubt in his mind that Bree Haynes was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
She was his perfect match. He had a feeling he’d known it back when he was desperately looking for her after meeting her that night in Vegas.
Something about her just hit home. It made no sense, and a lot of people would scoff at the idea of soul mates.
But without Bree, Smiley had no doubt he’d revert back to the grumpy asshole everyone thought he was before he’d met her.
And that wasn’t who Smiley wanted to be. Not anymore. He laughed more, tolerated the idiocy of his fellow humans better when he was around her. She made him want to be the kind of man she could rely on, who could make her laugh and smile every single day.
His future was a deep dark hole without her. Smiley knew that without a doubt. And if he lost her…
No. He couldn’t go there. Not while also staying focused on what he needed to do.
Jerking in surprise when the door to the conference room slammed open, Smiley glanced over to see who’d entered so abruptly. All conversation stopped, and it was so quiet, the ticking of the second hand from the clock on the wall was loud in the silent room.
“Well?” the man boomed, his slight southern accent clear even in that one word.
“What’s happened since I’ve been trapped on that fucking plane?
I was working with Ryleigh before I left, helping her go through video feeds, but the Wi-Fi on the plane wasn’t working so I had no way of communicating with anyone.
Then we were delayed not once, but three fucking times.
I’m irritated beyond belief and I feel as I’m way behind. Someone fill me in. Stat.”
Tex.
Smiley couldn’t believe it. Tex fucking Keegan was here.
In the flesh. He couldn’t remember a time when the man had personally involved himself in…
a situation. He usually communicated via phone and stayed glued to his computer as he did what he could to help.
For him to be here, in person, said a lot about what was happening.
Smiley didn’t know whether to be impressed or fucking terrified.
“Well?” Tex demanded again.
Wolf broke out of his shock first and strode toward the man, hugging him. Hard.
The rest of Wolf’s team followed, and soon Tex was surrounded by his oldest and dearest friends. They had a lot of history together, and it wasn’t surprising the SEALs were so happy to see the man.
Then it was Kevlar’s turn. Safe, Blink, Preacher, MacGyver, and Flash followed suit. Smiley was honored to meet the legend in person, but he hated the reason he was there in the first place.
Tex broke away from the others and walked toward him. He hadn’t moved from his place near the wall.
“Smiley,” he said, with a nod of his head.
“Tex,” he returned.
“Fuckers disabled the trackers,” Tex said next.
“Yeah.”
“I agree with Ryleigh’s assessment that the truck is headed for the coast, likely for Ensenada. Wheels going up in two hours. Can you be ready?”
Smiley blinked in surprise. “The commander’s working on getting clearance.”
“He can continue working on it all he wants. I’ve already got it. But there’s only room for four.”
Smiley’s heart was in his throat. He shouldn’t have been surprised Tex had already arranged transportation and gotten clearance, and yet he still was.
“So…who’s going?” Tex asked.
Smiley blinked again. “What?”
“Who’s going?” he repeated.
Smiley looked from the legendary former SEAL to the anxious faces behind him. He was supposed to choose who’d be going south to try to find and rescue the women? He didn’t want to leave anyone behind. His team was his rock. They all had different and vital skills.
And then there was Wolf’s team. They weren’t active duty anymore, but they were just as capable as they’d been before they retired.
Taking a deep breath, Smiley went with his gut. “Me, Cookie, Kevlar, and…you, Tex.”
“Me? Shit, man. I’m the least capable of everyone in this room,” he told him.
“Bullshit,” Smiley countered, even as everyone else voiced their disbelief at the same time.
“You have more skills on your fucking phone than most people do with an entire bank of servers at their disposal. Yes, the woman who’s working with you is good, but she’s not you.
You have the combat experience, and you’ve been in the heads of assholes like Castillo for longer than Ryleigh’s probably been alive.
” Smiley turned to Hurt. “I’m sorry, Sir, but—”
Hurt cut him off. “No. You’re right. As much as it kills me, I’m not the best person for this mission. I’ve been out too long. I trust you to take care of my wife. To get her home.”
Smiley nodded, respect filling him.
“I’m gonna call Tate,” Blink said. “I should’ve done it last night. I know this isn’t an official mission, and he and his Night Stalker team are on the other coast, but they have connections. Former Night Stalkers who’ve retired to Mexico. If needed, maybe one of them could be useful.”
Gratitude threatened to overwhelm Smiley.
He’d spent so much of his life keeping people at arm’s length, for his own self-preservation, he hadn’t even realized it was no use.
They were already under his skin. Still had his back regardless.
These men were his brothers, his family, in every sense of the word.
When he hurt, they hurt. When the woman he loved was threatened, they all took it personally.
Just as he had when their loved ones were in trouble.
They were a team, they banded together. And if that meant staying behind and holding down the fort while he was gone, that’s what they’d do.
Relieved no one was upset with his choices, Smiley turned to Cookie, who hadn’t said a word.
“Cookie?” He wasn’t even sure what he was asking, but he supposed he wanted reassurance that he’d chosen correctly. That Cookie was up to the task. That he could control his emotions in order to be an asset rather than a liability.
Smiley’s own emotions were all over the place, but he was channeling them into a single focus.
Finding Bree and the other women, and killing anyone who dared stand in his way.
He’d chosen Tex for his technological skills, yes, but he’d also be an asset in case there was any bloodshed.
The last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of his life in some shitty Mexican prison, and he knew Tex would be the man who’d be able to spin whatever happened and get them cleared.
Cookie approached Smiley and put a hand on his shoulder. The determination in his facial expression matched what Smiley felt in his soul. “Let’s do this. Let’s go get our women back.”
“Two hours,” Tex said firmly.
“Make it one,” Smiley countered.
“One,” Cookie agreed.
“That work for you, Kevlar? Assuming you want to go see Remi before we leave?” Tex asked.
“One is more than enough time,” Kevlar reassured the others.
The only people who headed for the door were the four who would soon be on their way to Ensenada.
The others stayed where they were in the room.
It was obvious no one was leaving until the women were located and rescued.
Most of the men had brought their phones up to their ears, probably to call their wives, but Smiley was already focused on the task ahead of him.
“Smiley?” Kevlar asked as they stepped outside the room. “Got a sec?”
“See you at the base airport,” Tex said, as he continued down the hall with Cookie at his heels.
“You need to get going if you’re gonna see Remi before we leave,” Smiley warned.
“Already texted her. She’s coming to the base. I’ll be with you before the plane leaves. I just wanted to say…I’m not going to let you down.”
“I know.”
“I mean it. You could’ve picked anyone to go with you, and I’m honored that you chose me.”