Chapter 12
Cold River, Alabama – Ashford County Hospital
Code Name: Raven
Eyes closed, the low voices of men Jade recognized cocooned her.
Charlie Team had brought her to the hospital yesterday after she’d collapsed.
She’d awoken, terrified Breana and Evan would continue their threats, but then she’d peered into Liam’s eyes and knew, at that moment, everything would be okay. He’d found her.
After tests and X-rays, the doctor had ordered an IV with a mild painkiller.
When the medication had taken effect, she’d fallen asleep.
Only to wake up during the night to Liam dozing in the recliner next to her bed.
His constant presence had calmed her racing heart when the nightmares came for her.
Forcing her eyes open, she let her gaze roam. All five Charlie Team members stood or sat in various areas of the room. The chatter died down when each set of eyes landed on her.
Warm fingers laced with hers. “Hey, there.”
Jade rolled her head. “Liam.”
“I’m here, honey.”
“What about?” she licked her lips. “What about your injuries?”
“Don’t worry, Raven. I forced him to see the doc.” Xander folded his arms. His gaze shifted to Liam, and he raised a brow.
Liam shook his head. “He’s like a dog with a bone.”
“And?” Jade refused to use the little energy she had to pry the answer from him with complete sentences.
“A concussion. But I’m already feeling better. Doc said no spinning up for missions for three to four weeks.”
“Yup, our fearless leader is grounded.” Boone’s cheesy grin made her smile.
“Does this mean we get time off?” Dax asked.
Rafe held up his hands, palms out. “Don’t look at me. I’m not going to be in charge of you yahoos.”
Jade chuckled at the men’s banter.
Liam leaned over her, humor lacing his eyes. “See what you started?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You had to ask about my head.” The man winked at her, then sat back down.
She shrugged. “Guilty. But not sorry.”
The guys busted up laughing.
Once the room quieted, Rafe moved to the other side of her bed. “Do you feel up to answering a few questions?”
Did she? No. Would she? To end all this…yes. “Only if you answer a few of mine.”
“Deal.” Rafe grabbed a chair, flipped it around, and straddled it. “We figured out the who, especially Breana, when you clocked her. Nice right hook by the way.”
“Yeah, Liam, don’t make her mad.” “I’m staying on her good side.” “That’s our Raven.” The team pitched in their comments.
Jade glanced down at her swollen knuckles. She’d forgotten that part. And maybe it was wrong, but time hadn’t been on her side. Trying to explain would have given Breana an opening.
Liam’s thumb brushed over the bruises. “We had no idea she was involved. Granted, we questioned it for a moment in the beginning, but we never focused on her. A mistake that left you vulnerable. That’s on us.”
“She was my therapist. I trusted her. I had no clue.” That part hurt. Jade had trusted Breana with her deepest secrets and fears. “There’s no one to blame but Breana.”
“Can you give us a rundown of what they said and did?” The worry behind Liam’s eyes broke her heart.
Jade explained waking up in the concrete room and the role Evan played.
“They wanted me to create an autonomous cyber-weapon system that can infiltrate military networks. It would monitor comms system and rewrite commands in real time without detection. Scary stuff. The timeline wasn’t doable.
I tried to tell them that, but they wouldn’t listen. ”
“Raven.”
Her gaze moved to Xander. “Could you have done it?”
She dropped her chin. Sometimes she hated her brain. “Maybe. I can see the program in my head.” Her answer came out in a whisper.
“Whoa.” Dax’s breathy response said it all.
“Does our government realize what you can do?” Rafe asked.
Jade’s heart pounded. “No. And I don’t plan on ever telling them. You know what would happen.”
“They’d label you a National Asset, and your life would no longer be yours,” Liam stated the facts.
“Exactly. I’ll work for our nation and put my best efforts into my job.
And you know I’ll protect our soldiers with everything in me.
But please don’t tell anyone what I can do.
” Jade wanted to beg and plead, but if they chose to inform Director Walsh or anyone else, her freedom, as she knew it, would be over.
“We will not be the ones outing you. Ever.” Liam’s firm tone was met with four heads nodding up and down in agreement.
“What about Breana and Evan?” Dax asked.
“I suspect they won’t say anything. Even if they did, there’s no proof.
I hadn’t gotten very far in the coding. And with Breana’s plan, I highly doubt she put something like that in her notes.
” At least Jade hoped not. Life was hard enough without full-time protection and the government breathing down her neck.
“Back to what happened.” Rafe steered the conversation away from one of her biggest fears. Not like she didn’t have her hands full without the title National Asset hovering over her.
Over the next few minutes, Jade continued to fill in the blanks. “I decided to embed a self-destruct sequence, so to speak. Then the next thing I know, you all show up, and here we are.”
The men stood or sat in silence. No doubt processing what she’d told them.
“And what about Echo team? Was their capture part of this?” Boone asked.
“After I discovered Breana and Evan were in on my abduction together, I started asking questions. You’re not going to believe it, but Echo Team’s hijacked GPS was all part of their plan.
Like we thought, it was a test. Not solely about the viability of the code, which I’m sure they planned to sell for a hefty price.
But also, about my reaction time and whether or not I could find the men. They were testing me as well.”
Liam squeezed her hand. “I talked with Director Walsh last night. She’s digging up your report and promised to take action.”
“Good.” Jade closed her eyes. Fatigue had settled in, but there was more she wanted to know. “What happened to Breana and Evan? And the men helping them.”
“Ah, well, Breana is spilling the tea and throwing the blame on Evan. Who, of course, is blaming her.” Dax shook his head. “The men working with them have all been rounded up—at least those still alive. Contracted hired muscle. Nothing more.”
“And what about Mexico?” Jade shivered at the mere thought of her time in the hut.
“The theory, which I believe is true, is those men thought they could get more money by prying the information from you. What they didn’t realize is that they assumed wrong about the why of your abduction.” Liam lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “The bottom line. The threat is over.”
“Over.” That word had never sounded so good. “Anything else I need to know or questions I need to answer?” She met each one of their gazes.
“I think we’re good.” Xander snapped his fingers. “Wait. There is one more thing.”
Her stomach dropped. She just wanted it to be done. “What’s that?”
“We might have an issue. We don’t know where you live. And the government might not hire protection for that big brain of yours, but we are not letting your six flap in the breeze.”
“Oh. I live in Benton Harbor, Virginia. And I know you all live in Colorado Springs, so that might be an issue.” Kind of like the problem of her not wanting to be separated from these men.
“Tsk tsk tsk, Miss Raven. I thought you were smarter than that.” Boone smirked.
“What did I miss?” She searched her brain and came up empty.
Liam stood and brushed the hair from her forehead.
“What Boone is not so eloquently saying is that we started transferring BlackKnight Security to Virginia a couple of months ago. The week before you went missing, we finished moving in. We,” he gestured around the room, “live and work in Virginia now.”
“Not far from you, actually.” Xander smiled.
“Um, wow. So, I get to see you more often then?” Oh, please let them say yes.
“Honey, you’re not getting rid of us.” Liam kissed her cheek, then leaned in and whispered, “If I have my way, you’ll always be by my side.”
Rafe tapped the back of the chair. “On that note, we’ll let you get some rest.”
Each one of Charlie Team gave her a gentle hug, promising they’d see her later.
“Bossman, that goes for you too. Rest that pea brain of yours.” Boone laughed as he waltzed out the door.
“They’re…” She couldn’t find the word to express how she felt.
“Ridiculous. Annoying.” Liam deadpanned as he reclined and tugged a blanket over himself.
“All that and more.” For the first time since she’d left home for Mexico, she could breathe.
She relaxed and closed her eyes.
God, thank you for protecting me and sending those men to save me. And for the man by my side.
A future with Liam was no longer a fanciful wish. Maybe, just maybe, it would be a dream come true.
Clearfield, Virginia – New BlackKnight Security Headquarters
Saturday – 1300 Hours
Call Sign: Charlie One
Several days later, after Raven’s release from the hospital and the trek back to Virginia, Liam stood on the front porch of his house and leaned against the rail.
The new headquarters compound sprawled in front of him.
When the team decided to move the business to the East Coast, they all agreed that having one location for living and working would be ideal.
They weren’t on top of each other. Something they’d all insisted upon.
The six houses they’d built dotted the massive spread, each secluded in a cluster of trees.
One per man, and an extra for, well, times like now.
Plenty of space so everyone would have privacy.
The main office served as a focal point from the lane onto the property.
And to Xander’s enjoyment, the location had an airstrip and hangar along with a gym, gun range, and storage for all their toys.
The rumble of a UTV caught his attention. He smiled and waved at Raven.