Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
One week later, off the coast of Washington State
The red plane banked east, the buzz of the engine audible from where Noah stood on the ground, watching Marina fly away.
She hadn’t said much to him since they’d been back, though she was present at all the team meetings.
Listening in, her gaze distracted as if she was on the call but staring at another window—not the team’s faces—and working on something else.
Refusing to answer the questions he asked. Or tell him how she was doing.
She’d picked up her dogs from Jay’s fiancée and disappeared. Until he needed a ride today and she’d refused to let him book another mode of transport.
“Nice of her to drop us off.” Caleb clapped him on the shoulder. “But she’s coming back later, right?”
Noah glanced at his twin. “Tessa will be fine, bro. She still has a few weeks before the baby comes.” Still, his brother’s nervousness was like a tangible presence inside Noah. “Seriously, she’ll be okay.”
“Maybe that isn’t the only reason why I’m nervous.” Caleb cleared his throat.
Ahead of them on this small island that didn’t seem to belong to anyone, a cabin-like structure had been built. Likely back when the trees didn’t overshadow the house, dropping their needles on the roof.
“Keeping the gutters clear would be a nightmare.”
Noah smiled at his brother’s comment. “Probably isn’t a lot of other yard work necessary.”
Not when the whole ambiance was “neglected and disused.” Probably the point, since it didn’t invite passersby—if there were any—to stop and knock on the door.
“You okay?” Caleb glanced over.
Of course, Noah couldn’t hide anything from his twin. Even if he wanted to, it usually wasn’t worth the effort. “I spoke to a doctor in Virginia. There’s some swelling around my spine. When it goes down, I’ll feel less stiff, but the prognosis will still be the same.”
“Don’t get hit in the back, ever. Ever, ever, ever.”
Noah said, “Something like that.”
“So keep your role. Be the guy who gets the contracts and stay out of the field.”
Noah ignored the tone in his brother’s voice. “I didn’t plan to get captured. If I’d even thought there was a possibility of that, I never would’ve taken Marina to that office.”
Caleb clapped him on the shoulder. “I know that. She knows that. You guys will get past it.” Noah groaned, and Caleb strategically changed the subject. “This is really the place? It’s not that far from Montana.”
“Yeah,” Noah said. “And a world away at the same time.”
Caleb nodded.
“Can’t really get longitude and latitude coordinates wrong.”
“Unless you mix up numbers,” Caleb pointed out.
“This is what was on the paper Kyle gave me.” Noah led the way as they set off, walking the deer trail that looked to be almost a mile long across a rolling hill to the cabin.
Caleb glanced over. “I can’t believe they’ve all been working for Mom and Dad all these years.” He shook his head. “I’m gonna need some time with that one.”
“Adam. Ash. You and I didn’t know Kyle before, but now that we do, I’ll be tracking the guy down on a regular basis and checking in.
” Noah had plenty of questions to ask, but for now he had a solid overview.
“Mom and Dad saved lives. They protected us, and they made sure they were still alive for us to find.”
Noah had been puzzling it all out at the ranch and stumbled on Pops alone in the barn.
They’d finally had a long-overdue conversation about what the old man knew about his son and daughter-in-law, Caleb and Noah’s parents.
While Pops knew next to nothing about the Phoenix Network—he’d never even heard the name—the old guy knew that their parents never would have stayed away for so long if they’d thought they could safely come home.
The rest of the info, he’d garnered from Adam and Ash. “The Phoenix Network is all about old-school spy craft. They keep their heads down and protect each other. It’s kind of brilliant actually, and it’s saved some people I respect a whole lot.”
“And they created the whole organization?”
“As far as I know, it’s their thing. Their life’s work.” Because they’d needed it first, and after that branched out and used the setup to save others. Guys like Adam who didn’t deserve what happened to them.
Noah wasn’t sure whether to be proud or allow the injustice of losing his parents for so long to swallow him up in bitterness. He knew which he wanted, but only time would tell on the rest.
Caleb said, “You gonna ask them to let you be part of it?”
“Division Zero is CIA. We might run into a conflict of interest no one wants to navigate, so I figure they’re not going to want to join forces. But we might need each other.”
“Not what this meeting is about, though. Right?”
Of course, Caleb knew that.
“We are gonna end up talking about work. It’s inevitable.” Or so Noah figured.
“But they’re our parents, and we haven’t seen them in fifteen years.” Caleb sounded nervous. “You think Mom still drinks that stinky tea?”
Noah laughed. “You think Dad still watches NASCAR on a Sunday afternoon?”
They shared a smile, and Noah spotted movement.
Up at the cabin, the front door opened wide. Behind her was the yellow glow of a warm light on a cloudy afternoon. Noah spotted a man in the window and knew it was his father. But the woman in the doorway captivated him. He didn’t remember her being that beautiful.
Caleb coughed but said nothing.
Noah wanted to smile at his brother’s nervousness, but the truth was, he felt the same way. He walked up to the front door first, leading the way. “Hey, Mom.”