Chapter 37 #2
“We have orders to get you all on a plane and out of here ASAP,” Master Chief Bradford said on approach. “You’re wanted back in D.C.”
Luke properly thanked Bradford and his team from where he lay on the stretcher, then turned his attention toward Harper and Roman. A sly smile spread across his face at the sight of her pinned to Roman’s side. He was probably thinking, Thank God, finally.
Aside from a few bruises, both Jessica and Luke appeared to be okay, but they’d need to be checked with an onboard medic while they all flew home.
Asher faced the group crowding around as Jessica and Luke’s stretchers were wheeled up the ramp and into the plane. “Thank you for bringing them back.” He swiped another tear from beneath his eye, nodded twice, then walked up the ramp to join his wife.
Harper’s gaze shifted over to two of the men from Alpha putting Will’s body into a body bag to be loaded onto the plane, and her stomach sank. “Did he say anything to Luke or Jessica while they were together?”
“Yeah.” Wyatt’s gaze cut over to Alpha Team. “We’ll talk on the plane.”
“You guys are a few security clearance levels above us, aren’t you?
” Bradford asked after waving off his brothers for some privacy.
He held up a palm. “Don’t worry, we won’t say anything.
If you ever find yourselves in a jam again doing, well, whatever it is you do now, just call us.
” He tapped Wyatt on the shoulder and headed for the main tent to meet up with Phillips.
“Looks like our circle of trust just expanded,” Finn said with a worried look. “Hope POTUS doesn’t break up the band now that we’re back together.” He paused. “Well, almost together. Knox isn’t here.”
“No one is breaking us up. Will tried, and he failed.” Chris smiled, scanning the group.
The guys stepped forward as if reading each other’s thoughts and extended their fists to meet before dropping a “hooyah.”
Roman swiveled around to find Harper again and hooked an arm around her waist.
“Now,” Finn began, “not sure about you all, but I’d love for this to be our last time in good ole Gan.” He smiled, then started for the plane.
Yeah, you can say that again.
After everyone was comfortable on board, well, as comfortable as one could be on a C-17 cargo plane, Harper released her hundredth sigh of relief at the sight of Luke and Jessica, both alive and well, then went over to where Wyatt and A.J.
were clinking beers. When she caught Roman’s gaze from where he sat with Luke and Jess, he winked at her.
That man is mine, she thought with a smile, then pulled her focus back to Wyatt and A.J.
“Now that Alpha Team can’t overhear us, what’d Luke and Jessica say?” Harper didn’t want to bug them while they were resting. And Asher was glued to his wife’s side with her petite hand tucked into his large palm.
“During his ranting tirade, Will confirmed all of our theories. He had hidden funds saved that the government hadn’t seized upon his arrest, and after convincing a guard to help him, he came up with the plan,” Wyatt explained.
“When he learned about the accountant, he went to him with a proposal straight away.”
Wyatt looked to A.J. and sipped his beer as if asking him to take over. Emotion filled his eyes, and it had to hurt like hell to deal with this traitor yet again.
A.J. straightened his posture and finished the timeline of events for Wyatt, which lined up perfectly with all of their theories.
“Will hadn’t been sure if we’d take the bait and go to the house in Monaco or if we’d figure out he was near the city where his wife had been killed.
He didn’t care one way or another. He was ready to go down, and he wanted to witness Bravo and Echo die in the process. ”
It was still hard to believe how one man could pull off so much from inside the walls of his cell, which meant the CIA would need to do some major rethinking about their current prison system. And clearly, their facility in Lithuania would have to close.
“I’m just glad this is over,” A.J. said a moment later and offered Harper a beer. “It’s hard enough going after bad guys, but when the bad guy was once one of us . . .” He shook his head, and Harper turned to see Liam joining them.
Liam looped an arm over her shoulder. “You and our man are finally a couple, huh? It only took the insanity of this case to bring you together?” He whispered a few more words into her ear before gently nudging her in the side, shooting her a wink, which was much more common for him to do than Roman, and he joined his brothers of Bravo where they sat on the other side of the plane not far from their team leader.
“We all need a vacation,” Harper said after taking a sip of the beer.
“I have a feeling we’ll be placed on a mandatory one if POTUS doesn’t try and break us apart,” A.J. tossed out.
True. Harper peered over at Roman. “I’m going to, um . . .”
“Cozy up with your man?” A.J. smirked. “Enjoy. You deserve it.”
She and Roman went to one of the hanging netted hammocks, and he helped her onto it. He wrapped his arms around her, his chest to her back.
“You know what Liam just said to me?” she asked while closing her eyes.
“Mm. What?” He tightened his hold of her, and wow, it didn’t matter they were in an uncomfortable net on the back of a cargo plane—she felt at ease, at home, in his arms.
“Elaina told him before he got on the plane for the op that you and I are going to have a daughter next year. She didn’t say when next year, but if you do the math . . .”
Roman brought his hand to her abdomen. “Well, if Elaina said it, that means it’s going to happen. Now the only question is, am I so lucky that we had mission success back at the hotel in Cape Town?”
She chuckled and shifted her ass against his crotch. “Mission success?”
“Babe, we’re going to be together so much that we won’t be able to pinpoint the exact date when it happens.”
“I like the way you think,” she drawled in a low, sexy voice. “How’s your back and hip?” she asked a few minutes later when the pull of sleep was upon her.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m sort of numb. Still running on adrenaline. But as long as we’re all back together, I don’t care about that.”
“Well, I need the father of the child we’re apparently going to have to be healthy,” she responded before they both fell asleep, unable to fight the tiredness any longer.
Once they landed in Dover, the doors parted to reveal an entire crew of people they loved waiting for them.
Everyone was there, even Knox, with his arm in a sling, standing next to his wife, surrounded by Secret Service.
Rory and Bear stood next to Adriana and Ana, and as soon as Rory let go of Bear, he rushed up the ramp into the plane, barking the entire way.
“Hey, boy!” Chris said, catching him in his arms, letting Bear’s nose nuzzle with his.
“Now this is what I call a greeting,” A.J. said, striding alongside Harper and Roman, setting his eyes on the wives and children waiting for them.
“I can walk, damn it,” Luke grumbled and stood from the stretcher. “Eva,” he croaked out, and their team leader nearly fell when his gaze cut to his wife holding both their children in her arms.
“Luke,” Eva cried and started toward him.
Harper slapped a hand to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes at the reunion. Luke kissed Eva before crushing all of his family in his big arms.
Elaina was there with her baby brother, another Jackson. Liam grabbed hold of Emily and kissed her hard before hugging Elaina and spinning Jackson around in the air over his head.
Knox started their way as the rest of them filtered off the plane to greet their loved ones. “Welcome home,” he said with a huge grin.
“And now . . .” Finn began, reaching for Knox to pull him in for a hug. “Now the band is back together.”