Chapter 1 #2
“We’ve done a lot of good work in the last seven and a half years,” Jessica said, her voice cracking as if she were on the verge of tears. Pregnancy hormones, maybe? “But I was hoping to do even more. And then train others to take our places when we’re done.”
“You have Scott and Scott,” Rydell said as if they’d forgotten. “Your agency has done some admirable work, too. You can still help people.”
Four weeks ago, Bravo and Echo Teams had fast-roped into an old communist compound in Panama and taken out a man who’d been responsible for wiping out villages of people in his own country. They did make a difference. They wouldn’t conduct ops like that for Scott & Scott.
“No.” Knox pounded the desk, forgetting the room, the audience. “If my dad wins, and I have to leave so you all can stay together and keep working, I’ll do it.” He wouldn’t hesitate. Whatever was best for the teams, for the nation, he’d do in a heartbeat.
“There’s no Bravo without you, brother.” Liam’s Aussie accent thickened. “We stay together.”
“Agreed,” Chris said right after.
“I’m gone, if you’re gone,” Roman, one of the quietest guys on Echo, spoke up.
Knox proceeded to move his gaze slowly around the table, falling on Jessica’s face last.
“I know you and your father reconnected not too long ago . . . what’s your take on how he’d handle the news that you’re part of a not-so-legal covert team of operatives?” Rydell asked.
He straightened and unclenched his fists, allowing his arms to fall to his sides, allowing gravity to grab hold of all of him like an anchor so he could stand firm.
He’d only started speaking with his old man again because the team had needed him to for an operation, but things had improved between them since then.
He’d even gone to a few family dinners at his mother’s request. Of course, he’d forced Adriana to go with him to make it bearable.
But would his father authorize the continuation of Bravo and Echo Teams, especially with Knox on Bravo?
He let go of a sigh. “I could feel him out. Join the campaign trail, maybe?”
“I can’t imagine you playing dress-up in a shirt and tie and touring with your old man.” Owen scratched his trimmed beard, studying him. “No way.”
“It’d be for the good of the team,” Jessica said in her low don’t-cross-me tone. “To keep us together.”
And that shut up Bravo Two, but was Owen right?
Could Knox find his way back to that life again? The life of walking on eggshells as the son of a politician, never knowing who was watching or listening?
He’d been off the grid so long he’d hoped the media had forgotten about him.
He’d have to put himself in front of the public eye again. Would the teams get dragged into the limelight, too?
Shit. What choice did he have, though?
“What do we know about the polls?” Harper’s question carried his focus to her. “It’s almost September. Is Bennett a front-runner?”
He doubted Harper paid attention to the news, same as Knox and the rest of the guys. They didn’t serve a political party. They didn’t have to play political footsie to get things done. They served the American people, even if the people didn’t know about it.
“Isaiah Bennett’s got a ten-point lead, but we can’t be certain of anything until November,” the president responded.
Rydell had been worried enough to assemble them in the Situation Room, so he had to have a pessimistic view of the future for the teams.
“Maybe head home, spend some time with your families. Stay low-key for now, and we’ll touch base in a few weeks.” Rydell looked at Owen. “You have a baby on the way.” He shifted his focus to Jessica and Asher. “And shouldn’t you two get married already?”
Asher and Jessica exchanged a quick look. “Maybe we could . . . I mean, we’re going to have a baby, so . . .”
“You’re pregnant?” Rydell’s eyes widened. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Mr. President.” A soft blush crawled up her cheeks, and her hand slipped to her abdomen, even though she wasn’t showcasing a bump yet at six weeks.
“We’ll figure this out,” the president said, unable to hide the uncertainty in his tone. “Enjoy your lives for a bit, and we’ll—”
“This is our life,” Finn interrupted.
“He’s right.” Chris stood. “This is my life. The teams. The missions.”
No one on Echo—not Wyatt, A.J., Chris, Roman, or Finn, had girlfriends or wives. They didn’t have daughters or sons to go home to when they walked out of this room.
Everyone on Bravo could still look at the glass half full if they had to, even Knox because he had Adriana, but Echo . . . it’d kick the wind out of their pipes to go back to civilian life.
The president opened his mouth to respond, but a series of urgent knocks at the door silenced him. “Come in.”
Knox pivoted to find White House Chief of Staff Coleman entering the room.
“Mr. President, we have a situation,” he announced straight away.
“This is the Situation Room,” Chris said in his lame attempt at a joke.
“What’s wrong?” Rydell stood and circled the table.
“There was an assassination attempt on Isaiah Bennett.”
Knox’s stomach dropped. His skin grew clammy. His entire world shifted. “What?” He’d mouthed the word, his voice refusing to participate.
“Everyone’s okay,” Coleman rushed out.
“Maybe you should have led with that,” Rydell grumbled. “What the hell happened?”
Coleman’s eyes widened when he spotted Knox. “You’re the senator’s son.” His gaze returned to the president. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was in here.”
The president waved his hand in the air, telling him to calm down. “Tell us what happened. You can speak in front of them.”
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
Sweat trickled down the sides of his face as if he’d sprinted from the other side of the building to get there.
“Bennett was leaving a campaign rally at an arena in Charlotte. Two shots were fired. The first shot is estimated to have been an inch from hitting”—he focused on Knox again—“your mom. She was right next to your dad.”
“My mom?” It was one thing for his father to put his life on the line in his efforts to obtain power, but he’d be damned if his mom got hurt because of him. “You said two shots.”
“One of your father’s bodyguards shielded your parents as the second shot was fired. He was wearing a vest, so the guy’s fine,” Coleman explained. “I’m so sorry.”
“We didn’t get the shooter?” Rydell asked, a dark grit underlining his tone.
“Not yet,” he answered. “Agents are swarming the area. The shots were fired from the hotel across the street.”
“I’m betting the shooter has two first names,” A.J. said casually. “They always do.”
“Says the guy with two first names,” Asher responded.
Jessica shot both men her signature look that threw daggers—a silent, Shut up.
“Aren’t the two-named guys usually framed? A conspiracy?” Harper noted, clearly missing Jessica’s warning shot.
But hell, their back-and-forth had allowed him a second to control his thoughts. His breathing. “I need to go to Charlotte.”
“Your parents are being taken to the local FBI field office,” Coleman told him. “Your dad declined Secret Service detail after he won the primary. He didn’t want to spend government money when he has plenty of his own cash. But maybe if . . .”
“My dad’s stubborn.”
“I’ll go with you to Charlotte,” Liam said.
“I should go, too,” Wyatt added.
“I’ll be in my office soon. Cancel my trip to Camp David,” Rydell instructed Coleman, effectively dismissing him. Once the door closed behind his chief of staff, the president faced the team crowded around the table.
“Sir,” Wyatt began, “I know you instructed us to stand down as of now, but I’d like to get a look at the scene.”
“Liam and Wyatt are the best snipers on the planet,” Jessica said while pinning her gaze to Knox, offering a look of condolence in the process. “They could possibly discover details that others might miss.”
Rydell shifted his blazer out of the way as he squared his hands on his hips. “We’ll have the best people working the case, I promise.”
“With all due respect, Mr. President, our team . . . they’re the best,” Luke said in a low, raspy voice.
“I can’t have you all running around a crime scene. Too many eyes on you.”
“What if we can convince Bennett to hire us?” Jessica asked. “Scott and Scott Securities? He’s used our services before.”
It could work.
Hell, it had to work.
“If you do this, you’re on your own. I can’t officially authorize it,” Rydell said on a sigh. “But off the record, go for it.”
“Everything we do is already off the record, Mr. President,” A.J. pointed out.
True. A few minutes later, they left the room and went upstairs, everyone powering on their cell phones. Knox’s began ringing straight away.
Adriana.
“I gotta take this. I’ll meet you all outside.” He looked up at his team, and Jessica gave a stiff nod, then followed everyone down the hall to a private exit. “Hey,” he answered, pressing a palm to the wall for balance, his knees still a bit weak.
“I just heard,” she said softly. “You okay?”
He closed his eyes.
Was he okay?
Better now hearing her voice.
“Yeah, are you good?” he asked, knowing the shooting had to be a painful reminder of what had happened to her mother.
“You’ve got to stop worrying about me.”
Easier said than done.
It’d taken him years to accept the fact she was Secret Service. And then another few years to stop allowing his fear of something terrible happening to her, to drive him crazy.
If she ever took a bullet on the job, though, he’d have to go John Wick on everyone involved. Maybe he hated killing, but he’d make an exception. He sure as hell hoped he never had to cash in on that exception.
“I’m planning on going to Charlotte.”
“Figured you’d say that. I’d come with you, but the PM of Sweden is here for a few more hours. I can fly in after. I don’t have any assignments scheduled, and I’m owed some time off.”
“Don’t you have a date or something tomorrow?” Deflection should’ve been offered as a college course. He usually had it down pat, but shifting topics to her dating life, and at a moment like this, wasn’t the best idea.
“With that fake boyfriend you made up at the barbecue when introducing me to your friends?” An eye roll he couldn’t see carried through her tone.
“There is a guy, though. A blind date.” He couldn’t get himself to stop. And the words had even rolled so obviously bitter out of his mouth, too.
“I’m canceling. You’re way more important.”
“I probably won’t be in Charlotte long. I’m gonna go on the campaign trail with them for a few weeks.”
She was quiet for a moment. Processing his words. “How’d your dad convince you to travel with him?”
This would be a hard sell, especially to her.
“I’m doing it for my mom.” Lying to her shredded him. It always messed him up. And maybe that was one of the main reasons he kept her away from his work-life.
He glanced over his shoulder, worried she could possibly be in the building right now, and he’d come up empty as to why the hell he was at the White House.
“Well, I gotta go. And I’ll be—”
“Fine,” she finished. “You said that. Please let me know the second you get to Charlotte.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He started for the side door, which exited out to West Executive Avenue.
“You’re not driving, are you? You’re probably not in the best state of mind.”
“Some buddies from the company are coming with.”
“Good. And, Knox?” She’d finally given in to his request to call him by his SEAL nickname—well, most days. When he did something to piss her off, she usually whipped out Charlie. “Stay safe. Love ya.”
Love ya. The “ya” had a way of toning down the actual statement. It was a safety net. A way to keep her guard up, and he knew it. He hated it. And he wanted to tear it the hell down.
But he was a hypocrite, because he usually only managed a, “You, too.”
He ended the call, took a second to pull himself together, then went outside.
He slipped on his shades when the sunlight hit him in the face. It was too bright for a day like this. A day when someone shot at his family.
“Hey, you okay?” Jessica stood next to Luke and Wyatt outside one of their parked Suburbans. “What do you want to do? Tell me, and it’s done.”
He glimpsed the backseat window as it scrolled down. “We got your back, brother,” A.J. said.
“I know.” And he’d be forever grateful.
“I’m thinking you, Liam, and Wyatt head to Charlotte first.” Jessica shoved her glasses to the top of her blonde head.
“You can work your magic to ensure we get invited onto the case. Harper, Finn, Roman, and Chris can fly to New York and work out of our main office. We might need a tech assist from there. The rest of us will join you all tomorrow after we get some stuff prepped.”
“I don’t think you all need to come. Obviously not Owen,” Knox replied. “And you’re pregnant.”
“I don’t do well with idle time,” A.J. said. “So, I’m going with y’all today.”
“Just promise me you won’t walk around the hotel in your bloody—”
“For you, I might,” A.J. cut off Wyatt and kissed the air.
A.J. had a penchant for strutting around in his American flag boxers and cowboy boots, and Knox was damn sure he only did it to irritate Wyatt.
Wyatt jerked a thumb toward the door. “He stays here.”
“You can’t survive without Echo Two, and you know it.” Luke smiled.
“You care to make a wager?” Wyatt grabbed his shades hooked at the top of his shirt and put them on.
“You’ve been batting zero on bets lately,” Jessica reminded Wyatt.
The guys loved betting, but Wyatt had lost about every one that year. Beers would be on him for life if he kept it up.
“We should get moving,” Luke said after a few moments.
“Right.” Knox snapped his attention back to the op .
. . he needed to call his parents. It probably should’ve been the first thing he did after learning about the assassination attempt, but he was still lightyears away from being buddy-buddy with his family despite a few dinners here and there.
“My dad has gotten death threats before,” he said once they were in the SUV and on the move.
“The US Marshalls have had to babysit him on more than one occasion while my dad was a senator.”
“But this is the first time someone tried to kill him, right?” Liam asked from behind the wheel.
“Yeah,” he said as they drove past the EOB building alongside the White House—Adriana’s office. “And hopefully it’ll be the last time.”