Chapter 9
“You talk to Devyn? Find out what’s up with her?
” Grover asked as soon as Lucky walked into the conference room later that afternoon.
He’d dropped Devyn off at the vet clinic and they’d shared another very hot, intense kiss in his truck.
The chemistry between them had shifted. Neither of them were tiptoeing around their attraction anymore, and it felt damn good.
He was all for showing Devyn how great things between them could be in bed, later that evening, and it seemed as if she was on the same page.
It was refreshing not to have to wonder what she thought in regard to moving their relationship to the next level.
She’d flat-out told him she wanted to make love, and he was one hundred percent on board with that.
Lucky also knew going that next step would bring them closer together, rather than make things awkward between them. Sleeping with your best friend’s sister was frowned upon by a lot of people, but Lucky had already gotten Grover’s blessing to be with Devyn, and it felt great.
But before he could move his relationship with Devyn to the next level, he needed to get through the afternoon. And it wasn’t as if he could jump on her the second he brought her back to his townhouse either. They’d need to eat, the animals would need to be tended to, but then—
“Lucky? Did you talk to her or not?” Grover asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Yeah. We talked.”
“And?” Grover asked.
Lucky tensed. He’d hoped after his conversation with Grover that morning, his friend wouldn’t question him about his sister. But it looked like it was happening, after all.
“She’s not in danger and she’s not sick,” Lucky said, keeping all emotion from his face.
“Ouch, man, looks like you’ve been left out in the cold,” Doc said with a chuckle.
But no one else laughed.
“You seriously aren’t going to tell me, are you?” Grover asked.
“We talked about this,” Lucky said.
Grover sighed. “I know. But it’s harder than I thought it would be to have both you and my baby sister keeping secrets from me.”
“Do you tell her everything that’s going on with your life?” Lucky countered.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Grover said, “You know I don’t.”
“She know about Sierra? About how you were interested in a contract employee you met in Afghanistan, and how upset you were when she didn’t respond to any of your emails?” Lucky pushed.
“No.”
“Or about the time you totally forgot Dev’s birthday and covered by sending that singing telegram guy to her office, but you didn’t pay attention, and instead of singing happy birthday, he thought she was celebrating her last day of being single?”
Grover laughed. “Uh, no. And if she ever finds out it wasn’t just a prank, and I’d forgotten her birthday, you’re dead meat.”
“Right. She’s an adult, Grover. Twenty-nine years old.
There’s a lot you don’t know about her either.
But she’s okay. We talked, and we’ll deal with what’s been bothering her together.
I wish I could tell you. It’s killing me to keep stuff from you.
But I gave her my word, and the last thing I want is to lose her over this. ”
Grover strode over to Lucky and put a hand on his shoulder.
“I get it. It sucks, but nothing will come between us. I trust you with my sister’s life.
That means her actual life, and her emotional well-being, as well.
Forgive me if I get nosey in the future, I just love her, and I want the best for her.
If I could wrap her in a protective bubble, I would. ”
“I know,” Lucky said. And he did. He felt the same way, though his love was a lot different than Grover’s love for a sister.
“Right, so with that done and out of the way, can we get on with the meeting?” Grover asked.
“I, for one, am looking forward to this Olympic assignment. While we’re there to protect the US athletes, we can put in requests for three competitions we want tickets to.
I’m thinking basketball, baseball, or beach volleyball.
” His eyebrows went up suggestively. “You know…hot women in bikinis jumping around on the beach? Sounds like a winner to me.”
Everyone laughed as they took their seats. “We’re allowed to put in our top three requests, but there’s no guarantee we’ll get them,” Trigger reminded him.
Lucky listened intently as they discussed the pros and cons of protecting the athletes from the different sports, and the logistics of how the Olympic Village would be set up.
The competition venues were fairly spread out, due to the nature of the different sports, and it would be a challenge to come up with a plan to protect them all.
Even though there were several special forces teams being deployed as security, in addition to the hosting country’s own police and security, it was a huge task.
It sucked that special forces had to be used at such a prestigious event as the Olympics, but as had been proven in the past, terrorists would take any opportunity to get publicity for their cause, and to spread fear and terror.
By the end of the meeting, the team had decided to put shooting, diving, and boxing down as their requested sports to watch during their time off. They all knew it was a crapshoot as to whether they’d actually get any of those sports, but it was worth a shot.
The team had worked the winter Olympics a couple years ago, and it had been educational as well as exciting. Much different from their usual missions.
“Now that we’re done talking about fun shit…we need to talk about Shahzada,” Trigger said. “Another contractor has disappeared. This is no longer a simple possibility of people getting sick of their job and walking out, like it’s been suggested.”
“Seriously?” Grover asked. “People think workers out in the middle of Afghanistan suddenly decided they didn’t like their jobs and just up and left?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what they think. Especially when all their stuff disappears with them,” Trigger said grimly.
“It’s such bullshit,” Brain said.
“What are they doing about it?” Oz asked. “Leaving without their stuff and without saying anything to anyone isn’t normal. And more than one person? It’s all fishy as hell.”
“I agree. As does the commander. He’s in talks now with the general of the base and they’re trying to work with the private investigators the contractor companies hired to try to find their missing employees,” Trigger said.
“Fuck,” Brain said in frustration. “And we’re sure this ties back to Shahzada?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Intelligence is saying he’s planning something big. And that the contractors who have gone missing were specifically targeted.”
“Why?” Grover asked.
“That’s the big question. No one’s sure.
But what they are sure about is that Shahzada’s followers have gotten more aggressive and vocal over the months since we were last there.
The base general has forbidden the soldiers to go into the nearby town because it’s simply not safe.
They’re fortifying the base as best they can, but it’s hard to know exactly what Shahzada has planned, especially when there’s no clear pictures of the man,” Trigger said with a concerned expression.
Lucky heard Grover inhale sharply. “What?” he asked his friend.
“He’s got Sierra,” Grover said.
“You don’t know that,” Oz said.
“I think we all know that,” Grover countered heatedly.
“She’s been gone a while,” Lefty agreed cautiously.
“And she’s a woman,” Doc added.
“Exactly,” Grover bit out.
Sierra had fallen off the radar months ago. They all knew the odds of the petite redhead being found alive were slim to none if she’d been kidnapped by Shahzada.
The team was quiet for a moment before Trigger continued on with the briefing, discussing the area of Afghanistan and what intelligence had discovered about Shahzada.
As much as Lucky tried to fully concentrate on the briefing, the reminder of Sierra missing made his mind return to Devyn.
He wanted to kill Spencer for putting his hands on her. Intellectually, he could understand what Devyn had said about brothers and sisters fighting and not thinking anything about it, but the fact that she was the one who’d ended up with a horrible bruise made her point moot in his eyes.
He was also very aware that Devyn loved her brother. And that she was worried about him. Lucky was worried too. If Spencer had gotten himself involved with a loan shark who wouldn’t think twice about setting an example to other clients who didn’t pay him back, Spencer could be in big trouble.
As long as the man didn’t drag Devyn down with him, there wasn’t much Lucky could do. He’d be there to support Dev however she needed him.
But if Spencer ever laid a hand on her again, he’d regret it.
The day seemed to drag, but finally their meetings were over and it was time to go home. Grover caught up to Lucky on his way out the door. “Can I have a sec?”
Lucky said goodbye to his other teammates and turned to Grover. “What’s up?”
“I know whatever’s bothering Devyn has to do with Spencer.
I also know she’s been avoiding him, and after she got that call from him at Oz’s place, nothing’s gotten better.
I still can’t get ahold of my brother, so I don’t know what he’s done…
but I want you to know that I’m not going to take sides, no matter what Devyn might think. ”
Lucky had promised Devyn he wouldn’t interfere, so he nodded. “Good to know. I don’t have any flesh-and-blood brothers or sisters, but I’m fairly certain if I did, I’d be protective of them.”
“Exactly. Devyn was vulnerable for so long. Physically and mentally, I think. Everyone thought she was doing great when she started indulging in all those crazy things like bungee jumping and skydiving, but to me, it seemed as if she wanted to spit in death’s face.
I’m not even convinced she actually enjoyed doing them, so much as she was being extra reckless just to try to prove she wasn’t the sickly kid we all saw her as. ”
Lucky thought Grover had an extremely good point. He simply nodded again.
“Even though Spencer is between me and Dev in age, he always seemed more immature. Wanting all of Mom and Dad’s attention when they were home, even physically pushing Devyn out of the way when he needed to.
I just…if they’re fighting, it wouldn’t surprise me.
I’m not going to take sides, and if that’s what Devyn’s worried about… she doesn’t need to.”
“I’ll let her know.”
Grover eyed Lucky. “Am I even close?” he asked.
Lucky sighed. “Yeah. Family dynamics are always weird, and I imagine they’re even more so in your circle because of how sick Dev was. But she loves you and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, I think you know that.”
“I do. But I don’t want her not hurting me to actually hurt her. If that makes any sense.”
“It does,” Lucky told him. “I’m gonna keep my eye on things. In the meantime, I think she just needs to feel as normal as possible. Hang out with everyone, get some girl time in, that sort of thing.”
“Is she going to start working full time?” Grover asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Grover sighed. “Right. I want her to, because that would mean she’s gonna stay. For a while there I thought she was gonna bolt at any second. Anyway, I’ll see you in the morning,” Grover said. “Tell Dev I love her.”
“Sure thing. See ya tomorrow.”
Lucky headed for his truck with a spring in his step. He had no idea what he and Dev were going to do for dinner, but they’d figure something out. It didn’t matter if they had hotdogs or filet mignon, he’d be spending time with her, and that was enough to make it the perfect ending to the day.
For the first time in his life, he wasn’t overanalyzing how he wanted something to go. If he and Devyn made love, great. If she’d had a hard day at work and just wanted to talk and sleep in his arms, fine.
That was how Lucky knew this was love. He didn’t feel an urge to move things along simply to get his rocks off. He loved Dev, and whatever pace she wanted to move at was perfectly all right with him. As long as he got to spend time with her, he’d be satisfied.
That feeling of satisfaction was bone deep every time he saw Devyn.
He hadn’t realized what it was until recently, and he hoped she felt the same.
Because if she didn’t, if he was a casual fling for her, it would devastate him.
Lucky couldn’t continue to see her at get-togethers with the team if she broke up with him. It would kill him.
He had to do everything in his power to make sure Devyn knew how much she meant to him. How much she was appreciated. It wouldn’t be a hardship. She deserved the world, and he was prepared to give it to her.