Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“How the hell did you make time to get your hair cut today?” Asher asked when meeting Owen outside their hotel on the street.
Owen swiped a hand over his much shorter locks. “We’re meeting face-to-face with”—he looked around to see if anyone was in earshot—“the secretary of defense. I can’t show up looking grungy. Haven’t seen the man since he nearly vetoed my membership on the team way back when.”
“Aw, you gotta look pretty for him, then, huh?” Asher knocked him in the bicep before they began down Virginia Avenue, leaving the Washington Monument farther behind them with each passing step. “Looks like you couldn’t lose the facial hair, though.”
“It’s trimmed.” He slipped on his shades and hid an eye roll. “Apparently, you don’t care how you look.”
“POTUS could call me into the Oval Office for all I care, and I wouldn’t give a damn if I were in my Sunday best or my briefs, let alone worry about my hair.”
Owen cracked a smile. “Like you have any ‘Sunday best’ digs, anyway.”
Asher mumbled something under his breath then said, “Too bad vacay was cut short. You were finally starting to have some fun.”
Owen peered up at the jet trails in the sky. He needed to remember to clock in some flying hours. “I might call Sam later, though. She said she was coming home today, and since she lives here—”
“You’re going to see her again?”
Owen stopped walking and moved off to the side of the foot traffic. “What, you think I shouldn’t?”
Asher leaned against the exterior of an office building. “I’ve just never known you to see a woman twice.”
“You talking about me? Or yourself?” Owen flicked his gaze to the reflection in the window, noting a dark Suburban rolling up to the curb behind them. “I think that ride is for us.”
As much as he hadn’t wanted to leave Sam yesterday, it was always good to be on an op. It helped take his mind off heavy thoughts. He was more than happy to have a reason to dodge his mother’s constant requests to attend Jason’s celebration-of-life party today.
Jess opened the passenger side door. “Are you guys going to get in, or what?”
“We could’ve walked,” Asher said. “Slide over, Peaches.”
Jess ignored him and looked to Owen. “Why don’t you sit in the middle?” She held a palm up, requesting Asher to remain standing, and Owen sidestepped him to scoot inside.
“Good to have you back,” Owen said when eying Luke in the front passenger seat, alongside Liam, who was behind the wheel. “How’s Eva feeling? Are you going to have one of those gender-reveal-party things to share the sex of the baby?”
“How do you even know about those?” Asher laughed, elbowing him in the ribs once the door was closed.
Luke shifted to face the three of them, wearing a smirk. “She wants to be surprised and wait until the baby is here, but—”
“But you want to have everything planned ahead of time.” Owen smiled, knowing his hard-ass boss wouldn’t be able to handle the not-knowing.
“It’ll be a boy, though. It has to be.” Luke closed his eyes for a moment, and Owen knew exactly what he was thinking. A daughter would be dangerous—for any boyfriend who dated her, at least.
“Girl,” Liam sputtered from behind the wheel with a chuckle.
“Anyway.” Luke pivoted back to face the front window. “How was your time in the sun?”
Mexico had been better than he’d expected.
Sam was a hell of a woman. Maybe Asher was right, and he didn’t usually make the time to see people again, because he hated keeping up the lie of who he was, but this felt different.
He’d felt a connection with her he didn’t remember ever experiencing, and that had to mean something.
“It was good,” Owen finally said when he felt the soft touch of Jess’s fingers on his tense forearm.
“You okay?” she asked in a near-whisper as if she didn’t want the rest of the crew to know she had a sensitive side—a side he wondered if only he knew about.
She was all hard angles with almost everyone, even sometimes with Luke.
Although, ever since Luke had “found love,” as Jess liked to call it, she’d softened a touch toward her brother.
But Owen also knew Jess had concerns that love might make Luke weak. That’s what she’d confided to Owen, at least.
Walls all around her, and he knew a thing or two about walls. Most of his team did, too.
“I’m good.” Owen added a nod when it looked like she didn’t believe him.
“Sorry again about cutting your trip short.” She removed her fingers from his arm. “Knox is rendezvousing at the meet.”
“Echo’s not being brought in?” Asher asked.
“Half of them are on a job for the company, and Handlin only requested a five-man team.”
He was surprised they were all meeting with Handlin. The secretary of defense never met with anyone other than Luke or Jess. He preferred to maintain his distance from the team to prevent any suspicious eyebrows from catching everyone together.
“Well, he’s actually getting five guys and a chick.” Asher rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, and it had Owen flipping his eyes to the ceiling, wishing he could remove himself from the center of their hate-slash-want-to-screw sandwich.
“‘Chick’?” Jess bit out. “I had hoped Mexico would’ve gotten rid of some of your testosterone. Guess I was wrong.”
Clearly, the vacation had done nothing to break the tension between them.
Asher edged even more forward as the SUV moved into the flow of traffic. “You love how I am, Peaches.” He kissed the air and winked.
She mumbled something beneath her breath and averted her blues out the tinted side window.
“You two.” Luke shook his head.
“Any clue what this job is about?” Owen asked.
“Only that Handlin red-flagged this meeting as critical, and he needed our asses in D.C. ASAP,” Luke said, and a couple of minutes later, he pointed to a two-story brick building not far from the State Department. “We’re here. Handlin said to park around back.”
“A law office?” Owen asked.
“It’s a front for an off-the-books meeting site,” Jess explained as she reached for the door handle.
Once outside, Owen started to walk to the building, spotting Knox waiting near the side door.
Luke motioned for the team to go in, but he turned to face Owen, stopping him in his tracks. “Can we talk?”
Owen’s hands disappeared into his pockets when Luke’s gaze dropped to the asphalt. “Uh, sure. What’s up?”
“Are you sure you’re good to go on an op right now? With Jason’s—”
“It’s exactly what I need. And I don’t need a reminder of what today is. Believe me, I know.”
“You’re sure?” Luke found his eyes again. “I need you at the top of your game, so you don’t get hurt.”
“Have I ever let you down?”
Luke’s mouth tightened before he gave a curt nod and headed for the building.
Owen swept his hands to his face and dragged his palms down to collect himself before following after the team.
Once inside, Knox met up with him in the hall and bumped a fist into Owen’s shoulder. “How was México?” he asked, adding a Spanish accent to his tone. “Lots of fine women there.” He flashed his classic broad smile.
“It was”—he let his words hang in the air for a moment while he’d thought about what Sam had said to him on the dance floor two nights back—“unexpected.”
“You want to tell me what that means?”
“I’ll let you fill in the blanks.” Owen grinned, his thoughts circling back to Sam. Had a woman ever gotten into his head like this?
The team filtered into a room, and Jess motioned for them to take a seat at a long oval conference table. The room looked to be a place where boring business meetings were held—not a place for highly secretive government briefings.
He dropped into a seat as if gravity were sucking him down with more force than normal today.
“We’re all clear,” Liam announced once he finished sweeping the room for bugs.
When Secretary Handlin stalked into the room with his glossy polished shoes and expensive suit, Owen’s gaze snapped up, and any lingering thoughts in his mind vaporized.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Of course.” Luke remained standing off to the side of the table that took up most of the space.
Handlin’s eyes narrowed when his gaze fell upon Owen. “I thought I requested Echo Team.” He lifted a brow and looked over at Luke.
“Yeah, but I have two guys from Echo on another job for our private security company right now. I couldn’t pull them in time to meet you today,” Luke explained. “So, you got your five-man team here.”
Owen was pretty sure everyone in the room was wondering the same damn thing: why not Bravo?
“I can’t have York on this mission. I didn’t want to be so blunt over the phone, but that’s the truth.” Handlin coughed into a closed fist a few times and scanned the room, as if expecting a reaction from the team, but they all remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Jess looked over at Owen, worry crossing her face before she redirected her eyes to the secretary of defense.
Luke’s jaw tightened for a moment before he finally spoke, cutting the palpable tension in the room. “We’re a team. If you want me, you get all of us. No exceptions.”
Handlin circled the table as if the movement would help him collect his thoughts. Owen caught a whiff of rubbing alcohol from him, or the kind of antibiotic soap surgeons use in the OR.
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Handlin gestured toward the door. “Luke. Jessica. Outside, please.” And he left the room without another word.
“What the hell was that all about?” Knox stretched back, his gaze narrowing on Owen.
“I’m about to go find out.” Luke left the room, and Jess gave an apologetic glance Owen’s way and followed him out.
“Why the hell wouldn’t he want me on an op?”
“I can only think of one reason.” Asher’s facial muscles went taut as he gave Owen a quick nod as if to say we’ve got your back.
“Luke and Jess will handle it,” Liam said a beat later. “Don’t worry, mate.” His Aussie accent swept through his words, and he tapped a closed fist against the table a couple of times.